A Pakistani physics graduate and gold medallist whose family sold land and pawned jewellery to fund her dream of studying at Harvard University in the United States was found dead in Islamabad. Laiba Ijaz, 24, died by suicide after allegedly losing PKR 93 lakh in an education scam. Before her death, she had pleaded with her relatives not to tell her father about the alleged fraud, fearing the devastating news would kill him.
Laiba Ijaz, hailing from Sargodha in Pakistan's Punjab province, had hoped to pursue higher education in the US and build a career as a scientist. Instead, her family alleged that a man promising to secure her admission, scholarship, and a US visa supplied them with false documents in exchange for large sums of money. Ijaz was found dead at a weekly market in Islamabad's G-10 sector on October 9, hanging from a tree with a scarf tied around her neck.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the incident, describing it as an extremely tragic case, and directed Islamabad's inspector general of police and chief commissioner to arrest the accused and ensure exemplary punishment. Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency confirmed that a suspect named Muhammad Nauman had been arrested in connection with the fraud, while criminal cases were also registered against another individual named Fatima Sarwar.
Ijaz was a physics graduate and gold medallist from the International Islamic University Islamabad who had declined a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia to pursue her Harvard ambitions. Her father, who has sold milk and yoghurt on the streets of Islamabad since 1994, prioritized his daughters' education despite his limited formal schooling. To finance her ambitions, he sold a plot of land meant for building a family home, while her mother pawned her jewellery to meet payments demanded by the consultant.
The family was introduced to Muhammad Nauman, who allegedly posed as a foreign education consultant and claimed a US-based woman could help secure a scholarship. According to the Federal Investigation Agency, the suspects defrauded the family of PKR 93 lakh, with 29 lakh transferred via bank account and the remainder paid in cash. The family was provided with forged admission and tuition payment documents that failed verification during a visa interview at the US Embassy in Islamabad.
Federal Investigation Agency officials and family members detailed how the suspects repeatedly delayed visa appointments while demanding additional cash payments shortly before the fraud was uncovered. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry later visited the bereaved family, with Naqvi describing the tragedy as a crucial test case for authorities amid a broader crackdown on human smuggling and visa fraud.