Ayyan Ali fails to appear before customs court
June 21, 2017
RAWALPINDI: Model Ayyan Ali failed to show up in court despite warrants issued in her name by the special court of customs, excise and taxation in the last hearing.
Further proceedings in the case could not take place as customs court judge Sheeraz Kiani was on leave.
However, a judge of the banking court stayed the bailable warrants while adjourning the hearing till July 29.
Ayyan’s lawyer Lateef Khosa in an informal media talk outside the court said that the model would be able to appear in the next hearing as she is out of the country. He also said a petition for the expulsion of the case has already been submitted in the high court.
The model was stopped at Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport on March 14, 2015 before reportedly boarding a flight to Dubai. She was arrested on charges of money laundering after customs officials recovered $506,000 from her luggage.
In November 2015, Ayyan pleaded guilty when she was indicted for attempting to smuggle more than half a million dollars in cash out of the country.
Ayyan’s name was also put on the Exit Control List (ECL) which was finally lifted in February this year by the interior ministry, after which she was able to fly out of the country.
