Khadija Shah, prime suspect of Jinnah House attack, turning herself in to police
Khadija Shah, ‘prime suspect’ of the May 9 Jinnah House attack, is turning herself in to the police!
Claiming to be a “supporter” of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), is accused of leading the mob that attacked Lahore Corps Commander’s House — also known as Jinnah House — during the May 9 riots.
Khadija, the daughter of former finance minister Salman Shah, said in an alleged audio message that emerged on social media on Sunday, “I am going to turn myself in to the police. I have taken this decision because the last five days remained ‘very tough for me.”
In the over 16 minutes-long audio message, Khadija admitted that she was part of the protest outside the Lahore Corps Commander’s House, however, she denied committing any wrongdoing including inciting people to violence.
“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,” Khadija claimed.
Former finance minister Salman Shah‘s daughter, also disclosed that she was a dual citizen and trying to get help from the embassy.
“The Punjab government is trying to build a case on me that I am the prime suspect and mastermind of May 9 [vandalism],” she added while accusing the provincial authorities of victimization.
“I am neither the office bearer nor a worker [of the PTI]. I protested in an individual capacity as a supporter of Imran Khan,” she maintained.
I am going to make an arrest. I have not committed any crime. Khadija Shah#KhadijaShah is the daughter of former caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan Salman Shah and Grand daughter of Army Staff General Asif Nawaz Janjua.#ConspiracyAgainstPTIExposed pic.twitter.com/gtYP9tK3f4
— Kaleem Hafeez (@KaleemHafeezPK) May 20, 2023
Khadija said she joined the PTI’s procession at Liberty Chowk in Lahore to protest against the arrest of the former prime minister, who was removed from power last year.
“I also met Andleeb Abbas [PTI leader] and I was later told that they [protesters] were heading towards Corps Commander’s House to stage a protest there,” she added.
She maintained that there was nothing wrong in staging a protest outside any location in any democratic country.
“I and Andleeb tried to stop protesters from ransacking… but the crowd was getting larger and there were just a few organizers,” Khadija said adding that she did not cross the barricade of Jinnah House and incite anyone to violence.
However, she admitted that she posted videos of the ransacking of the Corps Commander’s House on Twitter to show the people what was happening as there was a “media blackout”.
“Yasmeen Rashid [senior leader of PTI] told me that the protest outside the Corps Commander’s House would continue till the release of Imran Khan,” she added.
