Ex-president’s key officer was facilitator of model Ayyan: ASF

KARACHI: An Airport Security Force (ASF) official, while briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, on Thursday said the former president’s key officer was the facilitator of model Ayyan Ali.

The committee rejected the briefing as the ASF official was not ready to reveal the name of the important officer. Officials from the ANF and ASF revealed that the key officer of former president raised hue and cry when model Ayyan Ali was arrested on charges of money laundering in 2015.

Briefing the National Assembly’s Standing Committee, a top official of ASF told the committee that security agencies often face hindrances in their work due to political pressure. He said a video of Ayyan is available which reveals an “important officer” from the previous government as her facilitator. The security agencies were told that the money was being sent to a mosque, he further revealed.

Ayyan was stopped at the Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport on March 14, 2015 before boarding a flight to Dubai. She was arrested on charges of money laundering after Customs officials recovered $506,000 from her luggage.

In November 2015, Ayyan pleaded guilty when she was indicted for attempting to smuggle more than half a million dollars in cash out of the country. Ayyan’s name was also put on the ECL which was finally removed in February this year by the interior ministry, after which she was able to fly out of the country.