Imran Khan’s party supporter Khadija Shah arrested for ‘leading attack on Jinnah House’

Prominent fashion designer and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporter Khadija Shah has been taken into custody.

In connection with the attack on Jinnah House following the arrest of party chairman Imran Khan on May 9. Punjab police on Tuesday said Khadija Shah, the ‘prime suspect’ in the attack on the Lahore Corps Commander House, has been taken into custody, Geo News reported.

Khadija Shah did not surrender before the authorities despite claiming that she would present herself before them. Her husband and other family members have already been arrested.

After Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested on May 9 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, protests broke out in Pakistan. His party leaders and supporters stormed and burned the Jinnah House and also attacked several military establishments.

This comes after Punjab Interim Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s announcement last week that the women involved in the May 9 attacks on the military installations would be arrested at all costs.

A few days back, in an audio clip circulating on social media before her surrender, Shah could be heard explaining the immense hardship her family has faced over the past few days, The Express Tribune reported. She admitted that she was a PTI supporter and was part of the protest outside the Lahore Corps Commander’s House but denied committing any wrongdoing, including inciting people to violence.

‘LAST 5 DAYS VERY TOUGH FOR ME’
Releasing a voice note on Sunday, Khadija Sh0ah said she was going to surrender to the police and admitted her mistake.

Shah acknowledged that she had made “inappropriate” tweets against the military leadership in anger and emotion, but now they have been deleted.

“I am going to surrender to the police. I have taken this decision because the last five days remained very tough for me,” she said.

“They (authorities) barged into my house at midnight and abducted my husband and father. They roughed up my husband in front of our children… my domestic workers were also subjected to torture,” she claimed.

The PTI supporter further said she did not violate any law or the country’s Constitution, adding that she had participated in many PTI protests last year. She also disclosed that she was a dual citizen and trying to get help from the Embassy without giving much details.

Shah is the daughter of Dr Salman Shah who was a member of former president Parvez Musharraf’s finance team and had also served as an adviser in the Punjab government during the Usman Buzdar government. She is also the granddaughter of a former army chief.

The army and the federal government have also vowed that all miscreants involved in the attacks on military installations would be tried under the Pakistan Army Act and the Official Secrets Act.