The US has requested that fashion designer Khadija Shah be given consular access.

The daughter of former finance minister Salman Shah and fashion designer Khadija Shah was seized by police on May 9, 2009, in connection with the Jinnah House attack case.

Vedant Patel, the chief deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, said during a press conference, “We have followed the case of Khadija Shah and have asked the Pakistani officials for granting consular access to her.”

Additionally, he said that “we stand ready to provide all appropriate assistance” whenever a US person is detained abroad and that “we expect Pakistani authorities to respect all fair trial guarantees owed to these detainees.”

In his statement, he stated that “Pakistani politics are a matter for the Pakistani people to decide and for them to pursue within the framework of their own constitution and laws.”

The American representative went on to say that Washington valued its longstanding partnership with Pakistan.