Ayyan files contempt plea in SHC against interior ministry

Supermodel says interior ministry officials are not allowing her to leave country despite removal of her name from ECL

KARACHI: A day after Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed Ayyan’s petition against federal interior ministry, the supermodel filed a fresh contempt plea in Sindh High Court (SHC) against the ministry’s officials for not allowing her to leave the country despite her name being removed from the Exit Control List (ECL).

While disposing the model’s petition against the government for not removing her name from the ECL, the apex court had asked Ayyan on Monday to approach SHC to redress her grievances. The top court maintained it has already issued a verdict as it upheld Sindh High Court’s (SHC) order to remove her name on April 13.



A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan expressed that the high court would announce its decision on the respective case as early as possible.

Earlier, sources said the interior ministry told Ayyan that it would not be in a position to remove her name from the ECL until Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan gave out the instructions.

Ayyan’s counsel Chaudhry Akhtar Ali, in his application to the interior ministry, maintained that his client’s name should be removed from the ECL as she has to go to Dubai for a recording and photo session as per an agreement which required her to be present over there.

The SC had on April 13 upheld the Sindh High Court’s judgment to remove the model’s name from the ECL. The apex court’s judgment, however, said: “We don’t feel inclined to recall and rescind the relief granted to the respondent (Ayyan) by the high court on this score at this stage, when we don’t see any tenable ground for prohibiting the movement of the respondent, all the same we would not approve of bypassing a forum provided by law.”



In her petition, the model explained that the officials defied the constitution, law and the superior courts’ orders. “Everyone forthrightly facilitated General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from travelling abroad despite the pending serious offences against him, while the applicant was obstructed and deception and fraud placed upon her,” the model stated.