The Laiba Ijaz Harvard scam has drawn national attention in Pakistan after the death of a 22-year-old physics graduate, whose family says they lost millions of rupees to a man who promised her a scholarship at Harvard University. Police initially said the circumstances appeared to indicate suicide, but the cause of death will be formally established after a post-mortem examination and further investigation.
Who Was Laiba Ijaz?
Laiba Ijaz graduated from the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) with a gold medal in physics. According to relatives, she hoped to become a scientist and to continue her studies abroad. Her father earned a living selling milk from a motorcycle, and the family lived in a rented flat in the capital.
Her body was found in Islamabad’s G-10 sector on October 9. According to officials, she had planned to surprise her family on October 12 with news of her admission to Harvard.
How the Laiba Ijaz Harvard Scam Unfolded
According to her family, the university had presented Laiba with a scholarship opportunity in Saudi Arabia. When she discussed her ambitions with a man named Nauman, he allegedly claimed that he could secure a scholarship for her in the United States instead.
Relatives say he demanded about Rs7 million and provided documents that appeared to confirm her success, including a scholarship letter and a fake Harvard admission letter. The family says her father sold a plot of land and handed over Rs2.1 million in cash, while her mother’s jewellery was pledged with a bank to raise further funds. The family also alleges that the man took another Rs500,000 on the promise of a government job for Laiba’s brother.
The deception reportedly came to light when Laiba had the documents checked and found them to be forged. After the discovery, she sent a message to her maternal uncle asking him not to tell her father, because she feared the news would devastate him. Investigators have stressed that the message alone does not establish the full circumstances of her death.
The FIA Investigation and Arrest
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took notice of the case and directed the Islamabad police chief and the chief commissioner to arrest the accused. The Federal Investigation Agency’s Anti-Human Trafficking Circle registered a case on October 10 against Nauman and a second suspect, Fatima Sarwar. The FIR alleges that the pair collected Rs9.3 million from the family on the pretext of arranging a US visa, university admission and a scholarship. That figure is higher than the Rs7 million the family first cited. According to the FIR, Rs2.9 million was transferred through Laiba’s own bank account, and the rest was paid in cash.
Islamabad police later arrested Nauman from the city’s H-13 area. Investigators say he is accused of presenting himself at different times as a government employee in order to win the family’s trust. Police also reportedly found material on his phone linked to alleged online fraud. These claims remain subject to verification, and neither suspect has been convicted of any offence. A separate case has been registered concerning the circumstances of Laiba’s death.
Why Overseas Education Fraud Keeps Succeeding
The case has revived calls for stricter oversight of the education consultant industry in Pakistan. Consumer rights advocates have urged the government to regulate such agents more tightly. The pattern is familiar to admissions experts, who note that no private agent can guarantee a place at an elite university. Harvard’s admissions are decided by the institution itself, and applicants can verify any offer directly with the university.
Families can protect themselves in several practical ways:
- Confirm every admission or scholarship offer by contacting the university’s admissions office directly.
- Be wary of any consultant who demands large cash payments or claims personal connections inside a university.
- Avoid paying fees to individuals rather than to registered, verifiable organisations.
A Case That Demands Answers
The Laiba Ijaz Harvard scam is, at its core, the story of a family that sacrificed its land and savings for a daughter’s ambition. As the FIA investigation continues, the priority for authorities is to establish exactly how the forged documents were produced and whether other families were targeted.
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