Rawalpindi:
By.Asghar Ali Mubarak
The Lahore High Court on Tuesday ordered supermodel Ayyan Ali to be released on bail, in the currency smuggling case on Rs.5 Lkh surety bond likely to submitted on tomorrow in Rawalpindi trial court .It is very possible that she
will now be able to spend Eid-ul-Fitr at home with her loved ones. Ayyan Ali was arrested from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad on May 14, 2015 with USD 500,000. She had been accused of illegally trying to take this amount outside the country. Last year in same month her music video and single called You and I was released on the occasion of Eid in July 2014 . On the other hand Oraphan Kanma, a Thai citizen, was arrested by the officials on October 7, 2014 while carrying foreign currency including dollars, pounds, Euros and Thai baht stitched inside her coat. As a matter of co-incident Kanma was also held at the same airport.
Kanma was produced before the customs court on October 8 and three days later she was granted bail by the Judge. Her trial continued till February 24,1015, anyhow. The judge imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Kanma for attempting to smuggle foreign currency.
Advocate Asghar Ali Mubarak, who represented Kanma, said that it was a simple matter so the court released the accused within a week and decided the case in five months. Though she had been convicted, the court imposed a nominal fine on her, he said.
“The main reason was that Kanma’s case was not highlighted in the media,” he said. Another factor behind the early disposal of her case was that the Thai embassy vigorously pursued the case.
Earlier on June 29,2015 Mr. Justice Abdul Sami Khan of LHC had denied bail after hearing arguments from both legal counsels. During proceedings, legal counsel for the Customs department informed the court that Ayyan Ali did not have permission from the State Bank of Pakistan to carry the amount that was recovered from her, nor had she fulfilled the legal requirements to purchase the foreign currency.
The sources closed to legal team added, that Ayyan Ali was trying to escape and had managed to cross all checkpoints, had she boarded the flight she would have made good her escape. The customs lawyer informed the court that Ayyan Ali had been arrested under section 7 of the Customs Act.
Meanwhile, Ayyan Ali’s lawyer Lateef Khosa argued that his client did not qualify as a passenger as she had not been issued a boarding card nor had her passport been stamped as is required when leaving the country. Khosa added, that any citizen of Pakistan can be present at the airport with any amount of cash.
Ayyan’s lawyer argued that the fashion model intended to hand over the cash to her brother who was arriving from another flight, therefore none of her actions fall under the crime of ‘smuggling’. Ayyan Ali (Urdu: ایان, born July 30, 1993 in Dubai, UAE), professionally known by the mononym Ayyan, is a Pakistani model. Ayyan
Ali started her career as a model at age of sixteen. She started modeling in 2010 and also won the title of ‘Best Female Emerging Model’. She is also been nominated four times for the Lux Style Awards. She has worked with fashion designers including Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, Karma, Chinyere (Bareeze) and Gul Ahmed. She has also been the Brand Ambassador of Sunsilk, Ufone, Samsung, Honda and McDonalds.
In 2010, Ali was awarded the title of Calvin Klein ‘Beauty of the Year 2010’. Later she became their brand ambassador. That same year she was nominated for best female emerging model for the Lux Style Awards and in 2011 she was one of the nominations for Best Female Model by Lux again.
In 2013, Ali became the Brand Ambassador for the Wall’s ice cream Magnum in Pakistan. The party of Magnum ice cream hold at the spacious Convention Center at the DHA Golf Club in Karachi. She won the best female model award for 2012 at Pakistan media Awards. Her music video and single called You and I was released on the occasion of Eid in July 2014 was panned by the critics.
In 2014, it was announced that Ali would participate in the Miss Universe pageant to represent Pakistan. Had she participated, it would have been the first time a citizen of the Islamic Republic competed. Ali was not a competitor that year.
On 14 March 2015, the Pakistan Airport Security Force arrested Ali and charged her with money laundering. She was boarding a flight to UAEfrom Benazir International Airport in Islamabad. Ali was off to Dubai through a private airline when Airport Security Force (ASF) checked her luggage on the counter and discovered US $506,800. She was presented before a customs judge who sent her on a fourteen-day judicial remand. She was then taken to a medical facility for examination. The $500,000 in her suitcase exceeded the legal limit of cash that can be carried out of Pakistan, which is $10,000. During interrogation she allegedly named several Pakistani politicians and models involved in money laundering. The money laundering case of supermodel Ayyan Ali has not been as complicated as it appears to be after getting attention in media, because few months ago a Thai national, who was arrested for the same charges, was released on bail after four days of her arrest, according to a report published in media.
Customs officials held Ayyan on March 14 while she was carrying $500,000 in her bag at Benazir International Airport. Following her arrest the model has been detained in Adiala jail where she is said to be enjoying a special treatment by the authorities. She also pleaded the Customs Court and Lahore High Court for her release on bail but both of the courts rejected her request.
On the other hand Oraphan Kanma, a Thai citizen, was arrested by the officials on October 7, 2014 while carrying foreign currency including dollars, pounds, Euros and Thai baht stitched inside her coat. As a matter of co-incident Kanma was also held at the same airport.
Kanma was produced before the customs court on October 8 and three days later she was granted bail by the Judge. Her trial continued till February 24,1015, anyhow. The judge imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Kanma for attempting to smuggle foreign currency.
Advocate Asghar Ali Mubarak, who represented Kanma, said that it was a simple matter so the court released the accused within a week and decided the case in five months. Though she had been convicted, the court imposed a nominal fine on her, he said.
“The main reason was that Kanma’s case was not highlighted in the media,” he said. Another factor behind the early disposal of her case was that the Thai embassy vigorously pursued the case.
A lawyer in the panel of Ayyan said in most of the cases the customs court granted bail to the accused after a few hearings. “The model has not been fortunate to be released on bail even after about two months.”
He added that the customs officials were getting record publicity in the case so they were lingering the matter and creating unnecessary hype through the media.
However, Amin Feroz, an official of the customs’ prosecution, when contacted by the newspaper, said it was not an ordinary case and if convicted the model could get 14 years’ imprisonment. The court may also impose a fine on her, he added.
“Not in every case an accused obtains the bail,” he said, admitting that in some cases the person detained for currency smuggling got bail from the trial court and the high court. In some cases, the customs court awarded imprisonment as well, he added.
