A plea seeking confiscation of supermodel Ayyan Ali’s passport in the currency smuggling case has been lodged with the Supreme Court (SC). The plea was moved by Shahid Orakzai on Thursday.
The petitioner maintained that the customs court had ordered return of Ayyan’s passport after her conviction, and alleged the customs judge of making a mockery of freedom of movement under Article 15 of the Constitution. “Freedom of movement allows anyone who is restricted by the law to remain in the country and move freely throughout Pakistan,” he contended, arguing that “when a ten-year-old infant battling for life cannot get a clear road to hospital, how come a criminal convicted of smuggling at least $0.5 million is allowed to travel abroad.”
The petitioner submitted that he was not requesting the Supreme Court to order Ayyan to hand over her passport but to take action against the customs judge.
The Sindh High Court had on March 6 ordered the authorities to expunge Ayyan’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL) in the currency smuggling case.
The model had approached the high court seeking removal of her name from the list and permission to travel abroad.
Ali had maintained in her petition that her mother was severely ill and she was herself bearing losses in business matters. The attorney general then requested the court to grant ten-day time in the matter.
The court entertained the attorney general’s request and delayed implementation on its order pertaining to removal of Ali’s name from the ECL for ten days.
Ayyan had been booked in March last year at Islamabad’s Benazir International Airport for attempt to smuggle more than $0.5 million cash to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She had been apprehended by the Airport Security Force (ASF) before she could board her flight.