Ayyan a bigger criminal than Musharraf?

ISLAMABAD: For the government, supermodel Ayyan Ali is a bigger criminal than the person who broke the Constitution twice. The government has gone tough on Ayyan Ali as it is opposing removal of her name from the Exit Control List (ECL) despite clear directions from the Supreme Court (SC) to regulate ex-dictator Musharraf’s movement and custody, it has gone all soft, ironically.

Just days ago, the federal government approached the Supreme Court for retaining the name of supermodel Ayyan Ali on the ECL. The government expressed apprehension that there is a possibility of Ayyan leaving the country to escape the money laundering case proceedings against her. However, the government has no such apprehensions in Musharraf’s case who is facing a high treason case for breaching the Constitution and making the mockery of the state institutions.

In Musharraf’s case, the Supreme Court while upholding Sindh High Court’s decision of removing Pervez Musharraf’s name from the ECL specifically mentioned in the judgement that the ‘order will not preclude the federation of Pakistan or the Special Court, seized of the proceedings under Article 6 of the Constitution, against respondent General (R) Pervez Musharraf from passing any legal order for regulating his custody or restricting his movement’.

Despite having the powers to restrict Musharraf’s movement, the federal government did not show any apprehension that Musharraf wanted to fly abroad to escape the pending cases against him especially the high treason case.

On the other hand, the supermodel is facing a case of money laundering as she was arrested by Customs officials from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad in March 2015 after $506,800 were recovered from her luggage. Ayyan denied the money laundering charges. She was released from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after almost four months in detention. It is important to note that in Ayyan’s case, the crime did not happen because she had not boarded the plane yet when she was arrested. Yet the federal government is going tough on her by not removing her name from the ECL.