A graduate of the International Islamic University Islamabad, identified as Laiba, allegedly died by suicide after learning that the US university admission documents supplied by an agent were fake, police said on Saturday.
Her body was found in Islamabad’s G-10 sector, within the jurisdiction of Ramna police station. Police said she was distressed after discovering the fraud.
Her family said she had completed her BS degree at the university with a gold medal and wanted to continue her studies abroad. They said an immigration consultant demanded Rs7 million to secure her admission to a US university.
Her father, who sold milk on a motorcycle and lived with the family in a rented flat, sold his plot and paid the agent Rs2.1 million in cash. The family said her mother’s jewellery was also deposited with a bank to arrange the remaining amount.
The family said Laiba discovered all the documents were fake when she had them verified. In a final message to her maternal uncle, she wrote: “Do not tell my father about the fraud committed against me. He will die.”
Police have widened the scope of their investigation and are examining the case from several angles. They have not yet received the post-mortem report, and the cause of death will be determined once it arrives.
