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Jinnah House attack: Punjab okays consular access to fashion designer Khadija Shah

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  • Punjab Home Department grants consular access to Shah.
  • US officials are set to meet her today at Kot Lakhpat Jail.
  • She is allegedly involved in arson attack on Jinnah House.

LAHORE: Punjab Home Department has granted consular access to Pakistani-origin US citizen Khadija Shah, who was allegedly involved in an arson attack on Jinnah House on May 9, The News reported Thursday.

Sources said that Punjab Home Department made the decision after instructions from the Ministry of Interior.

The sources said the US officials are set to meet her today (Thursday) at 11pm at Kot Lakhpat Jail in the presence of prison as well as Special Branch officials.

After receiving the US officials’ request for consular access to Shah, the Ministry of Interior issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) and directed the additional chief secretary of the Punjab Home Department to give consular access to Shah.

The Ministry of Interior has also informed the Punjab IG Prisons and the superintendent of Kot Lakhpat Jail about its directions in this regard. During a weekly press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel had said that Washington was pursuing Shah’s case and it asked the Pakistani government to grant consular access to Shah.

“She holds dual citizenship and the US always stands alert to help the US citizen wherever he or she is arrested,” said the spokesperson of the US State Department.

“And we expect Pakistani authorities to respect all free, all fair trial guarantees owed to these detainees,” he added.

The military installation was attacked on May 9 when supporters of PTI stormed and set it ablaze in the wake of the party chairman’s arrest in the £190m settlement case. Shah said that she is a prominent supporter of PTI.

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Imran Khan’s bail request in the Toshakhana-II case has had its objections dismissed.

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In the Toshakhana-II case, the Islamabad High Court has dismissed the objections to PTI founder Imran Khan’s bail request.

IHC instructed the registrar’s office to schedule the hearing for the case for Monday.

Imran Khan’s attorneys, Shaheena Shahab, Ayesha Khalid, and others, arrived in court today as IHC Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the case.

The registrar’s objections to the plea were questioned by Justice Aurangzeb. In the Toshakhana-II case, Imran Khan submitted a bail application, according to counsel Ayesha Khalid.

Justice Miangul said that previous rulings in circumstances comparable to this one adhered to the consistency principle. In this instance, the petitioner was a man, he added.

Bushra Bibi was given bail because she was a woman, according to the justice, and an application like this one was denied yesterday.

Given that the case action date was November and the power of attorney was executed in July, Justice Aurangzeb raised a concern about the timing.

Justice requested the help of Advocate Shah Khawar in this case.

When an applicant was held in jail, Shah Khawar retorted that it was standard procedure to obtain signatures on required documents, such as a power of attorney.

Imran Khan’s attorney, Shaheena Shahab, asked the court to send out notices regarding the bail plea. A judge named Aurangzeb said that the law would be observed.

Following arguments, the court dismissed the registrar office’s objections and ordered that the case hearing be scheduled for Monday.

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PTI presents seven nominations to Imran Khan for the judicial commission.

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Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has proposed seven individuals to its founder, Imran Khan, for consideration as founding members of PTI for membership in the next Judicial Commission.

None of the nominated individuals are attorneys; rather, the roster includes four Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and three senators.

The proposed MNAs are Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Ali Mohammad Khan, and Aamir Dogar, while the senators are Shibli Faraz, Mohsen Aziz, and Aun Abbas Bapi. Sources suggest that the Judicial Commission will include one opposition member from both the National Assembly and the Senate.

The PTI founder will evaluate and endorse two names from the suggested list, which will then be sent to the Speaker for future actions.

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Miller confirmed that Biden’s administration got a letter from a congressman requesting the release of the PTI founder.

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Following his removal as prime minister in 2022, Khan started a protest movement against a coalition of his enemies led by current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Since then, he has been in jail since August 2023 and has been involved in hundreds of cases.

In response to ARY News’ question over the congressmen’s letter during a media briefing in Washington on Monday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated, “We will respond in due course to the members.”

The United States wants to see Pakistan maintain its democracy, Miller stated.

The release of the PTI founder’s wife and sisters was a result of a meeting between the US Deputy Assistant Secretary and a Pakistani government representative in Islamabad, which was further questioned during the press briefing.

“I won’t be addressing that,” Miller said when asked if the United States was involved in their release. Miller did, however, affirm that the conference included the defense of Pakistan’s basic liberties and rights.

Sixty-two members of the US Congress urged President Joe Biden on October 24 to support the release of Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, and other political prisoners.

The congressmen, who included well-known Muslim members Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, said in their letter that the Biden administration should ask Pakistani authorities to guarantee the safety of PTI founder Imran Khan.

They also underlined that US policy should concentrate on Pakistan’s human rights situation and asked that US ambassadors attend the PTI leader’s incarceration.

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