ISLAMABAD: The top court dismissing Customs Collector and Ministry of Interior appeals maintained the Sindh High Court judgment regarding removing Ayyan’s name from ECL.
Justice Ejaz Afzal announced the judgment today. A three-judge bench, after hearing the arguments of parties’ counsels on April 6 had reserved the judgment.
The Sindh High Court on March 7 had ordered the secretary Ministry of Interior to immediately remove supermodel Ayyan Ali’s name from the ECL and submit compliance report within 14 days. The Collectorate Customs challenged that order in the apex court. Later the interior ministry also impleaded party in the case.
In March 2015 the customs officials arrested the supermodel Ayyan Ali from Islamabad airport. The model has denied involvement in money laundering.
The model in her statement had contended that her incomplete project in Dubai is stuck up for one year and the company, with which she has an agreement of modelling threatened to lodge a claim of $10 million if she fails to show up in April in Dubai for photo session.
The Customs Collectorate’s stance was that $506800 were recovered from Ayyan and she did not deny the recovery. The Customs lawyer had told that the charges have been framed against Ayyan and ASF and Customs officials are the witnesses and the trial is pending in the Customs Court. He said if there is bona fide on the part of accused part then she should face the trial. He assured if the model cooperates then the trial could be completed within one month.
In the last hearing Justice Ejaz had said that the government should not have discriminatory policy in Ayyan’s case. “If you (federation) will do the classification then it is not good.” He said what is good for person A should also be good for person B. “What terrible will happen if she (supermodel) flies out of the country,” the judge asked.