A maternal uncle of a Pakistani student, Laiba Ejaz, who committed suicide in Islamabad after being defrauded by an education consultant, said she had dreamed of studying in the US and becoming a scientist.
Speaking to ARY News, Laiba’s maternal uncle said that to make her dream come true, she had approached a consultancy in Islamabad’s Blue Area, where a man identified as Noman offered to arrange a scholarship.
Under the proposed arrangement, Laiba’s family was told they would have to pay 20 percent of the costs, while the university would cover the remaining 80 percent.
After submitting the required documents, the family was informed that the scholarship had been approved, her maternal uncle said.
He said that the consultant learned the family had savings of around Rs.1.2 to 1.3 million and persuaded them to hand over the money.
The family was subsequently told that a bank statement was also required under new rules, he said. They sold a plot of land and transferred Rs.4 million to the consultant’s account.
About a week later, they were asked to provide a further Rs.3.2 million.
According to Laiba’s uncle, the family sold jewelry, purchased US dollars’ worth of that amount, and also transferred the money to the same account.
The consultant then provided a bank statement showing funds totaling Rs. 7.2 million, her uncle said.
However, when the family contacted Harvard University to verify the documents, they discovered that they were fake, he added.
He also named a woman called Eliza, based in the US, who he said had been sending the documents.
Laiba reportedly worked as a private tutor in Islamabad’s G-11 sector to support her ambitions. Her body was found near the Warden Police Post near the Sunday Bazaar area
