ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has granted the US Embassy in Islamabad consular access to PTI leader Khadija Shah, who is in custody in connection with May 9 vandalism. The American embassy submitted an application with the ministry requesting access to Khadija Shah. The ministry received the request through Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Interior Ministry has directed Punjab Home Department to extend full cooperation to the US Consulate in Lahore in this regard. It may be mentioned here that the US State Department has called on Pakistan on Tuesday last to grant consular access to fashion designer and PTI leader Khadija Shah who has dual citizenship. The State Department said its diplomats have not had access to Khadija Shah, the founder of the luxury fashion brand Elan, who was produced before an anti-terrorism court following protests over the May 9 arrest of ousted prime minister Imran Khan. DNA
\n\u201cWe have asked Pakistani officials for consular access to her,\u201d State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington, confirming Ms Shah\u2019s dual nationality. \u201cBelieve Ms Shah is dual national and so we continue to engage directly with the government of Pakistan,\u201d the spokesperson said.
\nThe spokesperson added that the US always urges all foreign governments to allow and follow counsellor notifications for procedures when American citizens are detained. He indicated that more US citizens have been arrested.
\n\u201cWhenever 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,\u201d Patel said.
\nHowever, he added that he would have to \u2018check\u2019 about the exact number of US citizens under custody in Pakistan adter the incidents of May 9. \u201cObviously these circumstances, depending on privacy considerations, we\u2019ll have to circle back on that,\u201d Vedant said.
\nShah\u2019s family said that she took part non-violently in protests on May 9. Some demonstrators took aim at the powerful military, alleging a plot to sideline Khan, who was arrested on corruption allegations.
\nShah\u2019s family said that she voluntarily showed up to an investigation only to be arrested. When she appeared in an anti-terrorism court, her face was covered.
\nThousands of people, including grassroots supporters and key Khan aides, have been rounded up since the Supreme Court declared that his detention was illegal and allowed him to walk free.
\nToday a court in Lahore has rejected a request for physical remand of Khadija Shah and instead sent her to prison on 14-day judicial remand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Interior has granted the US Embassy in Islamabad consular access to PTI leader Khadija Shah, who is in custody in connection with May 9 vandalism. The American embassy submitted an application with the ministry requesting access to Khadija Shah. The ministry received the request through Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Interior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-336379","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n