Islamabad student’s ‘suicide’: Father sold plot, pledged jewellery to fund daughter’s studies abroad

Islamabad police have expanded their investigation into the suspected suicide of a 20-year-old university student in the capital, as her family said that a consultant defrauded her of money by providing a fake admission letter from a US university.

The police said that the post-mortem report of Laiba, who was found dead in the G-10 area within the jurisdiction of Ramna police station, had not yet been received. The exact cause of death would be established after the report, they added.

According to her family, Laiba wanted to pursue higher education abroad. A consultant had allegedly offered to secure her admission to a US university for Rs7 million but later provided a fake admission letter.

Her family said that Laiba had completed her bachelor’s degree from the International Islamic University Islamabad and earned a gold medal.

Her father, who lives with his family in a rented flat, sold a plot of land and paid Rs2.1 million in cash to the agent, according to the family. They said Laiba’s mother’s jewellery was also pledged with a bank to arrange the remaining money.

The alleged fraud came to light when Laiba had the admission documents verified and discovered that they were fake, her family said.

In a final message to her maternal uncle, Laiba reportedly asked him not to tell her father about the alleged fraud, saying he would not be able to bear the news.