‘A talented and happy girl who spread cheer’

Aliya Niyaz Ali’s parents and her best friends Fatima Iqbal and Sara Wassim are struggling to come to terms with her untimely death.

Fatima, who knew her from grade 5, said: “I find it difficult to believe that my best friend whom I shared a sandwich with at school only two days ago is no more. She loved baking and calligraphy and wanted to be so many things all at once — a nutritionist, a dietician, an interior designer, a graphic designer … we baked cupcakes and created calligraphy for school projects. They still adorn the school walls. I will never forget her.”

Sara, who was Aliya’s friend for over four years, said: “She bubbled with positive energy. Aliya had an artistic hand and wrote our school certificates. She was generous and kind. I feel I was just beginning to know her and now she is gone, it is unbelievable.”

Aliya’s death makes the grade 12 prelims doubly stressful for her friends.

Going through her drawings, Aliya’s mother Fareeda broke down when she saw a poem Faces of Patience penned by Aliya in her beautiful handwriting.

Patience in obeying Allah and doing the righteous deed; Patience on abstaining from evil, disobedience and prohibited acts; Patience during times of hardships without complaints…” it read.

Aliya’s father Ali added: “I want to alert parents, doctors and health officials about her inexplicable death. Her death must not go in vain.”