A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday granted bail to supermodel Ayan Ali in money smuggling charges. Arguing before the bench comprising Justice Anwarul Haq and Justice Arshad Mahmood Tabassum, Ayyan’s counsel claimed the Customs officials had arrested her and raised fake charges of money smuggling. The supermodel sought bail adopting the stance that she went to the airport to hand the money over to her brother who was arriving in the city that day via an Emirates flight.Counsel for Ayyan, Khurrum Latif Khosa had said that the earlier rejected plea was against a customs court, while the fresh bail petition directly addresses the LHC.Ayyan had been arrested by the Customs officials from Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, on March 14 after US $506,800 was recovered from her luggage. She was taken to the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi where she is held.The Ayyan Ali saga illustrates some of the least endearing aspects about Pakistan, and its society. By that we do not mean the rampant criminality that is eating away at this country’s vitals; on the contrary, this 21-year-old is but a cog in the wheel of a well-oiled system in which the big fish can get away with murder until it suits the state to reel them in. She is scarcely a candidate for Pakistan’s gallery of rogues. However, the manner in which she was kept languishing in jail under judicial remand on suspicion of a crime for which others similarly detained would have been granted bail a long time ago is regrettable, and raises some uncomfortable questions.Certainly the case against Ayyan Ali must be investigated, but the process must be scrupulously fair and seen as such.
pk.shafaqna.com
Ayyan Ali’s release: Would the investigation lead to big fish?
