How a Harvard dream ended in tragedy for a Pakistani family

Laiba Ijaz, 24, a physics gold medallist from the International Islamic University Islamabad, was found dead near her home on October 9. Initial police findings suggest she died by suicide after her family lost millions of rupees in a scam by Muhammad Noman, who promised to secure her admission to Harvard. Noman was arrested two days after Laiba’s death and was shot dead in custody on October 20; police said accomplices had opened fire to free him. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi later gave the family more than 5 million rupees recovered from Noman, but Laiba’s father, Muhammad Ijaz, said the money could not make up for losing his daughter.