ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned the prosecutor general of Punjab and the investigative officer on a petition moved by a customs official’s widow who implicated model Ayyan Ali in the murder of her husband.

The two officials have to appear in person before a three-judge bench headed by Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, which is seized with a set of three petitions filed by Interior Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan challenging the Sindh High Court (SHC) order to remove the model’s name from the Exit Control List. However, the date for next hearing will be decided later.

The Supreme Court again restrained the SHC from passing the final order on a contempt of court petition filed by the model over the government’s failure to remove her name from the ECL.

The Supreme Court also asked the high court to decide the petition of Ms Ali within two weeks.

The apex court wondered why a fresh application for placing the name of the model on the ECL had been filed after a year.

Justice Dost Mohammad Khan observed that mere pendency of a criminal case in a court was no ground for placing the model’s name on the list unless the trial court issued warrants for her arrest.

On March 14, 2015, Customs officials recovered $506,800 from the suitcase of Ms Ali when she was leaving the country

Advocate Abdul Latif Khosa, representing the model, argued that the fresh application moved by Saima Ejaz, the widow of Customs Inspector Ejaz Mehmood, was based on mala fide intentions. He said that the FIR about the murder of the customs inspector was lodged by his brother in which he had not nominated the model. When the official was killed, the model had been lodged in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, the counsel added.

Additional Attorney General Waqar Rana said that the government had complied with the orders of the Supreme Court by removing Ms Ali’s name from the ECL. But the name was again placed on the list at the request of the customs authorities.

In her petition, Ms Saima has requested the court to keep the model’s name in the ECL until her husband’s murder case is decided.

According to the petition, Ejaz Mehmood was serving in the Customs Collectorate in Islamabad and had been posted as inspector at Benazir Bhutto Airport’s state warehouse in Islamabad.

On March 14, 2015, Customs officials recovered $506,800 from the suitcase of Ms Ali when she was leaving the country, upon which a case was registered against her. On March 14, investigating officer Mohammad Saleem deposited the amount in the warehouse and Mr Mehmood, being the in charge of the warehouse, took the case in his hands.

On June 2, when Mr Mehmood was present in his house, two gunmen entered the house and fire shots (at him). He was taken to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi where he was declared dead in what the petition said was a mysterious way. Subsequently a first information report about the murder was lodged.

The petitioner has alleged that Mr Mehmood was killed at the behest of the model because he was the custodian of the case property and was under continuous pressure to manoeuvre and manipulate the evidence to favour the accused. But he refused to succumb to pressure.

Earlier Ms Saima had moved an application under section 22-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the court of the sessions judge in Rawalpindi. The judge ordered investigation officer of the murder case, Manzar Abbas, to record statements of the petitioner and the brother of the deceased.

Subsequently, Ms Saima recorded her statement in which she nominated Ms Ali and two others in the murder of her husband, the petition says. It alleges that prima facie the model was connected with the offence and, therefore, she must be arrested and dealt in accordance with the law.

The petition argues that after obtaining bail in the currency- related case, the model has been desperately trying to go abroad beyond the control of the state of Pakistan to thwart the course of justice.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2016