The interior ministry approached the Supreme Court against the Sindh High Court (SHC) March 7 order directing the ministry to remove supermodel Ayyan Ali’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), after the request of a collector of the Model Customs Collectorate.
The ministry argued that the high court should not issue directions for placing information on its website.
In March 2015, customs officials arrested the supermodel at Islamabad airport, upon recovering $506,800 from her luggage. Ayyan later denied any involvement in money laundering. She was released from Adiala prison in Rawalpindi after spending almost four months in detention.
A divisional bench of the SHC had ordered on March 7 the removal of supermodel’s name from the ECL. Later on the request of the collector of Model Customs Collectorate, the top court suspended the high court’s verdict.
The interior ministry while submitting an appeal through its counsel Ahmad Nawaz Chaudhry submitted that the name of Ayyan was placed on the no-fly list on the recommendation of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Uploading the list of persons on ECL by the ministry of interior on its website may create social and cultural problems for them because society would show hate toward such persons on ECL whether guilty or not when they are followed on the website, it is further stated.