Following months of detention, fashion designer and supporter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khadija Shah has returned to her professional duties.
She was granted bail by a Quetta anti-terrorism court last month in connection with the May 9 unrest. On May 23 of last year, she turned herself in to Punjab police in Lahore. After PTI founder Imran Khan was arrested in a corruption case, the designer was accused of encouraging the violent May 9 rallies. She was subsequently imprisoned for several months.
The well-known creative designer marked her official return to the workforce with a poster on Instagram on Wednesday that read, “Our creative Director Khadijah Shah is back: Elan Reignites.”
She wrote a lengthy welcoming note as the post’s caption. She declares: “I will always be indebted to our Pakistani supporters for their unwavering love and support. I am positive that the strength of your combined prayers is what brought me home.”
“I have returned with greater fervor, enthusiasm, and inventiveness than before. I am ecstatic to take over as Elan and Zaha’s leader. We are ready to write a new chapter of innovation, rebirth, and cutting-edge concepts and designs together.”
“My first and greatest love has always been and always will be Pakistan. I’m determined to keep working for and serving my nation and its citizens. Making Pakistan proud through my endeavors has always been my goal, and I’m committed to keep going in that direction. We will do big things and create our best work yet with your continued support and blessings, inshallah,” she said.
She is the daughter of Salman Shah, a former member of the Punjab and federal cabinets.
Thousands of PTI employees and sympathizers were arrested nationwide as a result of the May 9 protests, and numerous party officials also left the organization as a result of the incidents.