Nadia Ashraf reportedly committed suicide after being unable to complete her PhD during the last 15 years under the supervision of Dr Iqbal Chaudhry who was allegedly harassing the doctoral student.
According to reports, the late doctoral student was also suffering from psychological as well as family issues a part from the harassment she faced from her supervisor who wouldn’t let her complete her PhD.
Students of Karachi University specifically the Dr. Panjwani Centre are now demanding an investigation into the suicide of their friend Nadia Ashraf asking for a probe into why she wasn’t able to finish her PhD during the last 15 years.
According to some reports, the doctoral student would tell her friends prior to her suicide that Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry would not allow her to have a PhD saying, “I don’t know what the doctor wants from me.”
However, the International Centre for Chemical and Biologocal Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi has denied the accusations of the story behind the suicide of Nadia Ashraf as “baseless and unfounded”.
A spokesman of the department said that Nadia Ashraf was enrolled for her M. Phil / PhD back in 2007 under the supervision of Dr Ameen Suria but later when under the supervision of Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry.
According to the spokesperson, Nadia just stopped coming to the Centre a few ago and started working at private universities to support her family occasionally visiting occasionally to meet her colleagues and supervisor.
The spokesman also said that Nadia Ashraf was severely depressed due to family issues especially after the disappearance of her father a long time ago and the Centre did its best to support her during this difficult time.
What really happened?
Nobody really knows the true story behind what happened but according to friends of Nadia Ashraf, the constant harassment she faced at the hands of Dr. Iqbal Chaudhry and not being allowed her PhD after years of hard work was the reason she committed suicide.