PTI activist Khadijah Shah to give up US citizenship for reserved seats

• Decision to relinquish US citizenship "not easy", says Khadijah Shah.
• She says Pakistan is her home, she cannot give up on her people.
• PTI activist picks Mehrunnisa Sajjad to represent her for time being.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Khadijah Shah has said that she will relinquish her United States citizenship as she announced accepting the party's nomination for reserved seats.

"Making the decision to relinquish my US citizenship, which guarantees freedom, safety, and opportunity, was not easy. However, Pakistan is my motherland, the place I call home, and the country where I've built my life. I cannot give up on it and my people," said Shah in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

The PTI supporter, a fashion designer by profession, has been embroiled in a number of legal cases over her alleged involvement in the May 9 riots, triggered after party founder Imran Khan's arrest in a graft case, which saw military installations including the General Headquarters (GHQ), Lahore Corps Commander's House being vandalised by angry mobs.

Shah had surrendered herself before the Punjab police in Lahore on May 23 last year and spent months behind bars before securing bail by an anti-terrorism court in Quetta in January 2024.

Continuing in her social media post, the PTI activist said that she was honoured to be nominated by party founder Khan for reserved seats and has accepted it with "hope to live up to his expectations and those of my fellow citizens".

The development comes as the Supreme Court on July 12 ruled that the PTI was eligible for the allocation of reserved seats for women and miorities, paving the way for the party’s return to the parliament, which was kicked out of the February 8 polls owing to the electoral body's December 2023 ruling.

The judgement has also increased the pressure on the coalition alliance as it will change the composition of the National Assembly.

The ECP, as reported by The News, has already notified as many as 93 lawmakers from three provincial legislatures as PTI members.

The electoral body issued notification of 29 members of the PTI from Punjab, 58 members from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and six members from Sindh. 

Lamenting her personal experience of "unimaginable injustice", Shah said that the adversity she faced has in fact given her a sense of purpose.

"I'm driven forward by the desire to make a difference for Pakistan," her Instagram post read.

However, the fashion designer highlighted that since her dual nationality issue is resolved, Mehrunnisa Sajjad — a barrister and an Oxford University graduate — will represent her.

Noting that Sajjad is neither a family member nor a friend, Shah said that she chose the lawyer after careful consideration because she embodies what I hope every Pakistani woman can have the opportunity to become.

"Mehrunnisa — who has also held the prestigious Vice President position of the Oxford Union and advocates for the marginalised and downtrodden in Pakistanis — is passionate about fighting for the rights of the marginalized, establishing genuine democracy, and driving progress in Pakistan. I’m proud to have nominated such an exceptional young Pakistani woman to represent PTI and myself in parliament," the PTI supporter said.