Rawalpindi’s Customs court on Wednesday granted one-day exemption to model Ayyan Ali from appearing in court in currency smuggling case.
Ayyan’s lawyer told the court that his client is unable to appear in a trial court as she is attending the hearing of a plea pertaining to exclude her name from Exit Control List (ECL) in Sindh High Court (SHC).
Customs prosecutor termed the petition as an act to delay in case proceedings. The judge remarked that the appearance in SHC was not important than her presence in trial court.
He said Ayyan bail can be cancelled due to the act however; the court accepted one-day exemption and ordered to debate on the case at any cost in next hearing on 6 January.
Earlier, special court of customs, excise and taxation approved top model Ayyan Ali’s surety bonds worth Rs2 million to return her passport which was confiscated after her arrest in the money-laundering case in March this year.
In a previous hearing, the court had maintained that Ayyan‘s passport is important documentary evidence in the currency smuggling case.
Whereas, counsel of the accused, Khurram Latif Khosa told court that the passport is Ayyan‘s “bread and butter” as she frequently travels abroad as part of her modelling contracts.The customs court formally indicted her with attempted currency smuggling.
