KARACHI, Aug 7: Thirty-two-year-old Syed Touseef Hussain had never thought of having all his original educational documents, including his bachelors and masters degrees, ruined when he applied for the UK’s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).

“The HSMP team mailed the envelope containing my original documents on May 17. But it reached my home on August 4 with all my degrees and documents cut either from the top or from the bottom. Some of them were even burnt,” the visibly depressed young man said.

Besides, he claimed, at least eight original documents, including the HSMP decision on his application (No. 217050 of May 16, 2007), were missing from the envelope that reached the International Mail Office, Islamabad, on May 23.

Stamps and seals on the envelope showed that it was received at the International Mail Office, Karachi, on May 24. However, it was delivered to the Gulistan-i-Jauhar Post Office after two months and 10 days.

“When we received the envelope we saw its seal broken and resealed by masking tape,” said the young man, who did his graduation and masters in accounting from the University of Karachi in 2002.

He said he was shocked to see his professional documents missing, and all his other original documents – degrees, birth certificate, etc – cut with scissors, some even partially burnt.

“I had tears in my eyes when I saw my documents in that shape,” he said.

The missing documents, all originals, were his appointment letter, confirmation letter, two promotion letters, last experience letter, one-year salary slips, two years’ income tax certificates and an IELTS test report.

He said that he did not know whether or not his application was approved by the HSMP authorities.

“But I can guess that my application was approved,” he remarked.