The Ministry of Interior has granted consular access to PTI worker Khadija Shah, arrested for alleged role in the May 9 riots.

After receiving the US Consulate General Lahore’s request, the Ministry of Interior on Thursday granted consular access to Shah and directed the Punjab Home Department to cooperate with the US Consulate in this regard.

The US officials called on Pakistan on June 6 to grant consular access to Khadija Shah, a prominent fashion designer and granddaughter of former army chief Asif Nawaz Janjua who was detained after the violence on May 9 in the aftermath of PTI Chief Imran Khan’s arrest.

During his weekly press briefing, the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, Vedant Patel was asked if the Biden administration was aiding the release of American citizens arrested after the May 9 protests, Patel stated that the US stood “ready to provide all appropriate assistance”.

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

Khadija is among the hundreds of PTI workers arrested for arson on May 9. After dodging arrest for days, she was arrested on May 23 in a case of attacking the Corp Commander Lahore (also known as Jinnah House), and sent to judicial lockup for an identification parade.