Fashion designer Khadija Shah is among the prime suspects in the attack on the corps commander’s house. The US State Department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, stated on Wednesday that Khadija Shah is also an American citizen, seeking consular access to the accused.
Patel further said that the case has been rigorously followed by Washington and they are urging the foreign government to follow the consular access. They will follow the same procedure as when an American citizen is detained.
In consular access, a person who is detained or arrested can have communication with the officials of their home country’s embassy. The main purpose of the consular service is to provide legal assistance to the arrested person and inform them about their rights by ensuring that they are being treated fairly without any prejudice.
On 9 May, military installations were attacked when alleged PTI supporters took to the streets following Imran Khan’s arrest. Khadija herself mentioned that she is a prominent PTI supporter.
According to Patel, “Whenever a US citizen is arrested overseas, we stand ready to provide all appropriate assistance and we expect Pakistani authorities to respect all fair-trial guarantees owed to these detainees”.
Whereas, Khadija’s family has stated that she was not included in any violent activity during the protest. Moreover, they also mentioned that Khadija showed up willingly in the investigations only to be arrested.
Many of the supporters of Khan have been arrested after the Supreme Court declared his detention illegal.
