Fashion designer Khadija Shah’s health ‘deteriorates’ in jail

PTI activist allegedly suffering from stomach issues for last two days

LAHORE:

Health of Khadija Shah, one of the prime suspects in an attack on the Lahore corps commander’s house, suddenly “deteriorated” at Lahore’s Central Jail on Sunday.

According to sources inside the jail, the PTI activist and fashion designer had been suffering from stomach issues for the last two days. Khadija Shah turned herself in at Lahore’s Iqbal Town police station on May 23.

The daughter of former finance minister Salman Shah, Khadija Shah is suspected to have been among those leading the May 9 attack on the Jinnah House, which is currently used as the residence of the Lahore Corps Commander, in the wake of the PTI chief's arrest in Islamabad.

Shah turned herself in at Lahore’s Iqbal Town police station on May 23 and an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on May 24 remanded her in a seven-day judicial custody.

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The court had directed the police to present Shah in the court on May 30 after an identification parade. It had also ordered the concerned officials to conduct her medical examination.

In an audio clip circulating on social media before her surrender, Shah could be heard explaining the immense hardship her family had faced over the past few days.

Shah, who is also the daughter-in-law of former COAS Gen (retd) Asif Nawaz Janjua, clarified that she believed in democracy and the Constitution, despite the charges levied against her. "I have not committed any crime and I am a Pakistani who believes in democracy and the Constitution."

Earlier, police had unsuccessfully raided two houses in Gulberg and one in Bahria Town to apprehend Shah. It was claimed that she had left her flat dressed in a burqa an hour before the police arrived and was using a friend's mobile phone for communication.