Arfa Karim Randhawa: Youngest Microsoft Certified Professional Dead at 16

By Laura Matthews | January 15 2012 11:35 AM

Arfa Karim Randhawa, who at 9 years old became the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, has died on Saturday at the age of 16, according to reports from Pakistan's Express Tribune.

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Arfa Karim Randhawa, a Pakistani computer prodigy who became the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional at age 9, died on Saturday at age 16.

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Arfa, a child prodigy, died at the Combined Military Hospital in Lahore. She suffered an epileptic seizure and cardiac arrest and was hospitalized for nearly a month before dying.

The Tribune reported that Arfa had an epileptic attack on Dec. 22 and lingered in a coma ever since.

We are grieving her loss, but she was a strong child, the teen's uncle, Maj. Ahsan Randhawa, told the paper. She was God's gift to us and now she has returned to Him.

She will be buried in her ancestral village, which is close to Faisalabad, the Tribune reported.

The Pakistan Observer reported that Microsoft founder Bill Gates had offered special assistance for Arfa's treatment, but the teen couldn't be flown to the U.S. because of her critical condition.

Arfa became the world's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional after demonstrating a proficiency with the company's software and was invited to headquarters in Redmond, Wash., by Gates. In August 2005, Pakistan's prime minister at the time presented her with the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology, according to the Observer. Arfa is also the recipient of the President's Award for Pride of Performance and is also the youngest recipient ever of that award.