ISLAMABAD: An 18-year-old girl was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad on Friday, prompting police to launch an investigation into the incident.

The deceased, identified as Marwa, was a resident of Dir district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Following reports of the incident, a heavy police contingent led by Superintendent of Police (SP) City Dr Ayaz, along with female police personnel, reached the seminary to secure the scene and begin a preliminary investigation.

According to police sources, Marwa went to sleep on Thursday night but was found unresponsive in her room the following morning.

Sources told Hum English that police faced resistance from the seminary administration when investigators sought to conduct a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.

The seminary management allegedly urged police to forgo the procedure, but investigators maintained that an autopsy was legally required because of the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

The body was later shifted to the Federal Government Hospital (Polyclinic), where the post-mortem examination was conducted under police supervision.

“The post-mortem examination has been conducted, and the exact facts surrounding the death will only be clear once the final medical report is received,” SP City Dr Ayaz told reporters.

He said police were investigating the case from all possible angles and assured that all legal procedures would be followed.

Police said a formal case would be registered after receiving the initial post-mortem report.

Jamia Hafsa, the women’s seminary affiliated with Lal Masjid, has remained at the centre of several disputes and confrontations with law enforcement agencies over the past two decades.