ISLAMABAD: Special Court of Customs, Excise and Taxation on Wednesday allowed supermodel Ayyan Ali to collect her passport.

Ayyan’s passport had been in the judicial custody since March 14 when she was apprehended while allegedly attempting to smuggle $508,000 abroad.

Supermodel through her counsel Sardar Latif Khan Khosa had filed the petition with the special judge of Customs Court, Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan.

The court indicted Ayyan in the currency smuggling case on November 19 after over eight months of her arrest.

She in her petition cited the state and inspector Customs at Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad as respondents.

The petition said the petitioner had never intended to take any foreign currency out of the country.

The petition further stated that international obligations and contracts signed by Ayyan desperately required her to travel abroad as the patience of the foreign companies was running out and they had warned her against further delay on her end.

The petition claimed that petitioner’s maximum life earning had been deposited with this court through the Customs/investigation officer. Besides, the petitioner also produced two sureties of Rs500,000 each with her bail bonds.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2015