ISLAMABAD: The Sup­reme Court allowed model Ayyan Ali on Monday to go abroad as it directed the interior ministry to immediately remove her name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

The ruling was issued by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar that had taken up the petition of Ms Ali against the ministry for not removing her name from the ECL and also pleading that she urgently needed to go to the United Arab Emirates to fulfil her contractual obligations for her recording and photo sessions.

The court dismissed the ministry’s appeal against the June 2, 2016 Sindh High Court order of removing her name from the ECL.

In addition to the ministry’s appeal, the apex court was seized with another petition also moved by the model on July 22 last year against the backdrop of an application filed by the widow of a slain Customs inspector to become a party in the case so that she could oppose the removal of the model’s name from the ECL.

Saima Ejaz, the widow of Ejaz Mehmood, had requested the court to keep the model’s name on the ECL until her husband’s murder case was decided.

The widow alleged that Ms Ali had played a role in the murder of Mr Mehmood and, therefore, was responsible for it.

The model, who was represented by Advocate Latif Kho­sa, was arrested on March 14, 2014, at Bena­zir Bhutto Internatio­nal Airport in Islamabad while travelling abroad and carrying foreign currency worth $506,800 without prior permission of the State Bank of Pakistan and without any lawful excuse why she was taking the money abroad.

Earlier on Dec 23 last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the SHC registrar to fix the pending petition of Ms Ali before a referee judge who was not part of the division bench that had issued a conflicting decision, with one judge allowing the model to go abroad and the other opposing it.

Consequently, the referee judge — Justice Naimatullah Phulphoto — decided in fav­our of the model by directing the ministry to remove her name from the ECL.

In her application, the model had contended that the failure to reach Dubai in time would make her pay $10 million to the advertising company with which she had signed a modelling contract.

It would result in irreparable loss to her in addition to initiation of a legal proceeding against her.

She was under great mental stress, the application said, as failure to fulfil the contractual obligation would also tarnish her reputation.

On July 22 last year, the apex court had suspended the arrest warrant for Ms Ali issued by a magistrate in Rawalpindi on July 20 over her alleged involvement in the murder of the Customs official.

The model had requested the apex court to quash the arrest warrant or at least suspend it in the interest of justice till final determination of the case.

Published in Dawn January 31st, 2017