The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday reserved verdict on Ayyan Ali’s contempt of court plea against re-inclusion of her name in the Exit Control List (ECL).
The hearing was conducted by a division bench comprising of Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh and Justice Kareem Khan.
Additional Attorney General Salman Talib Uddin while advancing his arguments said that Ayyan’s plea was inadmissible for hearing as no violation of law was committed. He said that Ayyan’s name was excluded and then included on the orders of the court. The court inquired the reason behind including Ayyan’s name in just two hours on which he explained that the SC was not informed about re-inclusion of her name in the ECL.
The court after hearing arguments reserved verdict on the plea and adjourned the hearing.
Earlier the Supreme Court had upheld the Sindh High Court’s verdict in the case. The high court had permitted the model to travel abroad ordering the ministry concerned to take required steps in the matter. The Supreme Court had rejected pleas filed by the interior ministry and customs authorities that challenged Ali’s omission from the list.
It is pertinent to add that in April the accused was fined USD 5,06,800 by the customs court, the exact amount she had attempted to smuggle in 2015.
Ayyan was apprehended by the Airport Security Force (ASF) at Benazir International Airport in March 2015 with wads of cash. She was to board a private airline’s flight to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).