A judicial magistrate in Islamabad on Monday placed the main suspect in police custody for five days. The case follows the death of Laiba Aijaz, a 20-year-old student who police say died by suicide last week after she was defrauded of Rs5 million paid towards a move to the United States for further studies. Police asked the court for 10 days. The magistrate allowed five.
What the magistrate ordered
The suspect was brought before Judicial Magistrate Zunaira Zafar with his face covered. The hearing concerned a case registered at Ramna police station.
Seeking the remand, the investigating officer said the facts still had to be examined in full, the suspect's alleged role checked, the evidence tested, and items linked to him reviewed. The magistrate granted five days rather than the 10 police had sought. Whatever is alleged against him is still under investigation.
The matter had already reached the federal government. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told police to arrest the suspect. He and two women described as his accomplices were later detained in separate raids in the federal capital.
What investigators say was promised
According to police, the Rs5 million was money Laiba had paid so she could go abroad to study. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the federal body looking at the immigration complaint, says the suspect, helped by a female accomplice, allegedly took millions of rupees from her family after misrepresenting his identity and his professional standing. The FIA account is that the money was taken on the pretext of a job for her brother and admission to Harvard University in the United States, and that she was given fake travel documents before she died by suicide.
The first information report records a different figure. It says her father, Mohammad Aijaz, had agreed to pay Rs9.3 million to arrange the journey. Police have spoken of Rs5 million already paid. The account available so far does not say why the figures differ.
A preliminary investigation also indicated that the suspect, working with the two women and others, had defrauded more people and taken millions of rupees. He had earlier served in the Quetta Anti-Corruption Department and had been dismissed. Laiba studied BS Physics at the International Islamic University Islamabad from 2019 to 2023. She was no longer enrolled there when she died.
Police registered the case under Section 322 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the provision on punishment for qatl-bis-sabab - causing a death without intending to kill - and Section 34, which covers acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention. The FIA registered a separate case on a complaint by Laiba's maternal uncle, under provisions on cheating, abetment and immigration-related fraud. On that file, the suspect was remanded while both inquiries continue. What happens next turns on what police put before the magistrate when these five days end.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Last week: Laiba Aijaz, 20, allegedly died by suicide after she was allegedly defrauded over plans to study in the United States.
- Afterwards: The case drew the government's attention, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed police to arrest the suspect.
- Before the hearing: The suspect and two female accomplices were picked up in separate raids in the federal capital.
- Monday: He was produced, with his face covered, before Judicial Magistrate Zunaira Zafar. Police sought 10 days. The court granted a five-day physical remand.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Islamabad ki adalat ne is case ke main suspect ko paanch din ke liye police ke paas bhej diya hai. Police kehti hai ke 20 saal ki Laiba Aijaz se America mein padhai ke naam par paise liye gaye, aur woh khudkushi kar chuki hai. Adalat ne police ki 10 din ki darkhwast puri nahi ki. Ab paanch din tak police us se sawal kar sakti hai aur saboot dekh sakti hai.
