ISLAMABAD: A prominent Pakistani-American fashion designer who was arrested following violent protests over the brief May 9 arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan was granted bail after five months in custody, her family said on Wednesday, although it was unclear on Thursday morning if she had reached home.

Khadija Shah, the founder of the luxury fashion brand Elan, was among thousands of people, including grassroots supporters and key Khan aides, who were rounded up after Khan’s arrest in a land graft case on May 9 unleashed nationwide protests in which his followers attacked and damaged government and military properties, including Lahore’s Jinnah House, the home of a top army commander.

“My daughter-in-law, #KhadijahShah, has finally been granted bail,” her mother in law posted on X. “May she come home tonight to her family and kids.”

Shah’s husband Jehanzeb Amin said:

“Alhamdulillah after five long months my wife Khadijah has been granted bail in both her cases. Our family and children are thankful to Allah for respite after these arduous months. We are confident Khadijah will be absolved of all charges and proven completely innocent.”

Announcing on X that Shah had gotten bail, her lawyer Sameer Khosa said the police had confirmed to the Lahore High Court that she was not wanted in any other cases besides the two in which she was granted bail.

It was unclear whether Shah had returned home on Wednesday after receiving bail. Many Khan supporters and aides have been rearrested in new cases in recent months moments after getting bail.

Shah was arrested on May 25 after being on the run for almost two weeks following the May 9 violence. Shah is accused in two cases of vandalism and arson at the Lahore Corps Commander House as well as the Askari Tower in Gulberg. She denies any wrongdoing and says she protested peacefully.

Shah is the daughter of Dr. Salman Shah, a member of the finance team of former military ruler General Parvez Musharraf. Her father had also served as an adviser in the Punjab government during Khan’s tenure as prime minister. She is the granddaughter of a former Pakistani army chief.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has faced a widening crackdown since May 9, with thousands of his followers arrested and dozens of members of his party, including some of his closest and oldest aides, deserting him.

Khan, who is serving a three-year jail sentence in a separate graft case, says a slew of legal cases against him since he was ousted from office in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022 are fabricated and politically motivated and that his associates are being forced out of the PTI under duress by the military in a maneuver to dismantle his party before elections scheduled early next year. The army denies this.