Court to declare Ayyan Ali absconder if she fails to appear before it

A customs court summoned model Ayyan Ali, who is accused of money laundering, to appear before the court and warned that she will be declared an absconder if she fails to comply with the court's order.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court dismissed pleas by the model requesting for permanent exemption from the court proceedings, local media reported. Ordering her to appear for the proceedings, the customs court said it will initiate the process to declare Ali a proclaimed offender.

Earlier in January, Ali's lawyer told the court that his client was scared of being arrested. The lawyer  told the court that Ali will appear before the court once it cancels the arrest warrants against her. The court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Ali last year in October.

In 2015, Ali was caught at Benazir Bhutto International Airport with $506,800 in cash, which she was allegedly laundering to United Arab Emirates. After spending around four months in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, she was granted bail after which she traveled abroad.

Since then the Pakistani model has been abroad and absconding her case proceedings. Last year, she broke her silence regarding the allegations and said that she was done with taking all the accusations.

She reminded everyone that she was not alone at the airport, as former President Asif Ali Zardari and Rehman Malik’s brother were also there. She questioned that why they were not being arrested and investigated too.