LAHORE: A young and up-and-coming model was found dead Saturday evening under mysterious circumstances in a house here in the city's Defence neighbourhood.

The body of Anam Tanoli, 26, was found hanging inside a room in the Defence-B Area house, police said, in what is being considered a suicide. It was later moved to Jinnah Hospital.

Tanoli, who was also a fashion designer and one of the rising stars in the new generation of models in the Pakistani fashion industry, had returned from Italy around two months back, police said, adding that they were investigating whether there was any foul play involved.

A statement from the deceased's mother was also recorded, police noted. Citing the statement, a local media outlet reported that Tanoli was "under mental stress" and "had an appointment scheduled for the same day with a therapist".

Tanoli's death comes as a big shock to both her fans and her fellow artists, with many people reviving the conversation about mental health and the prevention of suicide.

"She was a lovely person," an acquaintance wrote. "When would we take depression seriously," asked another.

Numerous fans talked about how painful it was to come to the realisation that the late model was "going through so much" despite her "perfect" life on social media.

"Even though you didn’t find peace in this world, i hope you are at peace now," a comment on Twitter read.