KARACHI: The Sindh High Court’s (SHC) referee judge, Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, on Thursday set aside the memorandum of Federal Ministry of Interior that restricted the travelling of fashion model Ayyan Ali abroad and directed the ministry to remove her name from the Exit Control List. The court, however, suspended the operation of the SHC order on the request of the ministry for 10 days so that it could approach the Supreme Court against the decision. The matter regarding the removal of Ayyan Ali’s name from the ECL was sent to the referee judge by the SHC chief justice following a split judgment by the division bench of the SHC. In its spilt verdict, the division bench’s senior member, Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, had dismissed the petition on the grounds that it was not maintainable due to jurisdiction. However, the other bench member, Justice Karim Khan Agha, had allowed the model’s request and directed the ministry to remove her name from the ECL. Ayyan, now out on bail, is facing a trial for trying to smuggle $506,800 after being caught in the act at the Islamabad airport on March 14 last year. According to the prosecution, Ayyan tried to smuggle an undeclared US$506,800 from Pakistan to Dubai. She had challenged the third memorandum by the interior ministry to place her name on the ECL since her arrest, despite the SHC suspending the ministry’s memorandums twice. Additional Attorney General Salman Talibuddin defended the ministry's decision, saying that Ayyan was stopped at the airport because her name was on the ECL following a recommendation by the Punjab government in connection with the murder case of Customs officer Ejaz.
