PHOTO COURTESY SAVVY PR AND EVENTS
The bail application, filed by Ayyan’s lawyer Sardar Ishaq, was taken up at the court by Justice Mehmood Maqbool Bajwa on Tuesday.
Ishaq complained that women arrested in murder and other notorious crimes were released on bail but his client, who was arrested in a smuggling case, was awaiting a bail yet.
“Her intentions were not malafide as she was carrying all relevant documents,” he said.
The lawyer requested that since Ayyan’s interrogation had been completed, she should be released on bail and lead a normal life.
Prosecutor Farhat Nawaz Lodhi argued that in case of conviction, the supermodel could be fined to pay Rs500 million for smuggling $500, 000 and sentenced to a 14-year jail term.
He said the money she was taking out of the country was recovered from her baggage, which passed through scanner machine.
“The money was concealed in a bag under her personal materials,” he said.
A probe was under way as the documents she provided about the deal were being verified, added Lodhi. “Besides, two mobile phones were confiscated and sent to the department concerned for data but they are locked due to passcodes,” he said.
The prosecutor said Ayyan had paid 40 foreign visits, adding that she committed three offences under Customs Act, Foreign Exchange Act and Import and Export Control Act. However, Ishaq objected and said that prosecution’s references were irrelevant.
The supermodel’s lawyer also rejected prosecution’s claim regarding her foreign visits, saying there was no bar on going abroad as Ayyan belonged to the showbiz world.
Regarding her cellphones, the lawyer said that the prosecution should have the technology to unlock mobile phones.
Speaking to reporters, Ishaq said that the references presented before the court were irrelevant and his client was jailed along with women convicted for murder and other notorious crimes.
Ayyan was caught by custom officials on March 14, with $500,000, which she was allegedly smuggling to Dubai.
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