RAWALPINDI: A special customs court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for model Ayyan Ali, in currency smuggling case.
The money laundering accused has been absconding from trial of the case after going abroad under different pretenses.
In fresh orders, the court directed the custom officials to arrest the accused and present her in court by Oct 22. Customs prosecutor Amin Feroz noted that Ayyan Ali had not turned up in court since December 8, 2015.
The accused model’s lawyer, Sardar Latif Khosa, didn’t make it to the court. A junior lawyer, Syed Iqbal Hussain, represented the accused on Mr. Khosa’s behalf.
The junior lawyer informed the court that Ms Ali was unwell because of which she could not be present in court, and he also requested temporary leave from absence for his client.
The court sought fresh medical reports of Ms Ali and said exemptions couldn’t be granted on the basis of old medical certificates.
Ayyan Ali has been in the media limelight since March 2015 when authorities, acting on a tip-off, arrested her at the VIP lounge of Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad on money laundering charges before she could board a flight to Dubai.
It is worth mentioning here that under Pakistani laws, a citizen is barred to carry over $10,000 on a flight. However, the authorities had found $506,800 tucked in her luggage.
She was released on bail in July 2016 and her lawyer claimed she had no intention to take money outside Pakistan.
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