The maternal uncle of Laiba Ejaz, a Pakistani student whose body was found near the Warden Police Post in Islamabad’s Sunday Bazaar area, has described how the family lost millions. Her uncle said she took her own life after being defrauded by an education consultant.
Speaking to a television news channel, he said Laiba dreamed of studying in the United States and becoming a scientist. To pursue that goal, she approached a consultancy in Islamabad’s Blue Area, where a man identified as Noman offered to arrange a scholarship. Laiba reportedly worked as a private tutor in the G-11 sector to support her ambitions.
How the family says savings and property were handed over
Under the proposed arrangement, the family was told they would pay 20 percent of the costs, while the university would cover the remaining 80 percent. After submitting documents, they were told the scholarship had been approved, the uncle said. He said the consultant learned the family had savings of about Rs1.2 to 1.3 million and persuaded them to hand the money over.
The family was later told a bank statement was required under new rules, he said. They sold a plot of land and transferred Rs4 million to the consultant’s account. About a week later, they were asked for a further Rs3.2 million, which they raised by selling jewellery and buying US dollars before sending it to the same account.
Uncle says Harvard checks showed documents were fake
The consultant then provided a bank statement showing funds totalling Rs7.2 million, the uncle said. When the family contacted Harvard University to verify the documents, they discovered they were fake, he added. He also named a woman called Eliza, based in the US, whom he said had been sending the documents.
