US seeks consular access to detained PTI leader Khadija Shah

court following protests over the May 9 arrest of ousted prime minister Imran Khan.

“We have asked Pakistani officials for consular access to her,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters, confirming Shah’s dual nationality.

“Believe Ms Shah is dual national and so we continue to engage directly with the government of Pakistan,” the spokesperson said.

The 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.

“Whenever 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,” Patel said.

However, he added that he would have to ‘check’ about the exact number of US citizens under custody in Pakistan adter the incidents of May 9.

“Obviously these circumstances, depending on privacy considerations, we’ll have to circle back on that,” Vedant said.