The sign above the Rana Malik Center, a dairy shop in Islamabad’s G-10 neighbourhood, advertises milk, fresh yoghurt, lassi and desi ghee.
asserted
sign → advertise → milk
Rana Muhammad Ijaz has lived with his family in the apartment above for more than three decades.
asserted
Ijaz → live → decades
Sitting outside his shop in late October, Ijaz recalled how his youngest daughter, Laiba, would make tea for him every morning and then again at night before bedtime.
asserted
daughter → sit → bedtime
“She used to massage my shoulders before I went to bed too.” he told Al Jazeera.
asserted
he → massage → Jazeera
Ijaz sat outside his shop, remembering her.
asserted
Ijaz → sit → her
“Now that she is gone, I miss it all.”
asserted
I → go → it
Laiba Ijaz, 24, a physics gold medallist from the publicly funded International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), was found dead near her home on October 9.
asserted
Ijaz → fund → October
According to the initial findings of a police case, she likely died by suicide after she and her family were defrauded of millions of rupees – tens of thousands of dollars – by a man who promised her admission to Harvard University in the United States.
uncertain
who → accord → States
Muhammad Noman, accused of the fraud, was arrested two days later.
asserted
Noman → accuse → fraud
He died on October 20 after being shot while in police custody.
asserted
He → die → custody
Police said his accomplices had opened fire to free him.
asserted
accomplices → say → him
On October 21, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the family and handed over more than 5 million rupees ($18,000) that officials said had been recovered from Noman.
asserted
officials → visit → Noman
But that money means little to Ijaz and his family.
asserted
money → mean → Ijaz
What mattered most – his daughter – is gone.
asserted
What → matter → ?
A dream of Harvard
Ijaz studied until the eighth grade and his wife until grade 10, but all four of their daughters went to university.
Two of the sisters studied mathematics while one of Laiba’s elder sisters spent a year in China on a scholarship, learning Mandarin.
asserted
one → study → Mandarin
Laiba, too, studied on scholarships, her father said, and won the gold medal at her university.
asserted
father → study → university
“The day she got it, Laiba danced and jumped in front of her sisters,” Ijaz said.
asserted
Ijaz → get → sisters
Laiba later taught science at an Islamabad school and gave out-of-school tuition classes to children between grades 2 and 6.
asserted
Laiba → teach → grades
IIUI offered her a scholarship to study in Saudi Arabia, but she wanted to pursue higher studies in the US, her father said.
asserted
father → offer → US
She asked him to pay for her studies abroad.
asserted
She → ask → studies
“’I did all the work myself, and I teach tuitions too, so can’t you do this for me?'” she asked her father, he recalled.
asserted
he → do → father
He told her: “My dear daughter, I will.”
asserted
I → tell → her
“From there, we started preparing,” Ijaz said.
asserted
Ijaz → prepare → ?
Then they met Noman, and the dream grew.
asserted
dream → meet → Noman
Unknown to the family at the time, it was built on hollow promises and outright lies.
asserted
it → build → promises
‘The card looked right’
asserted
card → look → ?
Laiba met Noman this year at a call centre where she worked in Islamabad’s Blue Area, the capital’s main business district.
asserted
she → meet → Area
Ijaz was uncomfortable with Laiba’s work environment and encouraged her to leave.
asserted
Ijaz → encourage → her
She quit the job.
asserted
She → quit → job
But Noman then began coming to the shop to buy milk and yoghurt.
asserted
Noman → begin → milk
During his visits, Ijaz said, he asked about Laiba’s plans to study in Saudi Arabia.
asserted
he → say → Arabia
“No, we will not go to Saudi Arabia.
asserted
we → go → Arabia
We will go to America,” Ijaz said he told Noman.
asserted
he → go → Noman
Noman claimed to work at the Supreme Court, showed Ijaz a service card and said he needed no licence because he was a government employee.
“The card looked right to me too.
asserted
card → claim → me
I showed it to the people next to me,” Ijaz said.
asserted
Ijaz → show → me
Noman offered to help Laiba with her application.
asserted
Noman → offer → application
Ijaz and Laiba decided to accept his offer.
asserted
Ijaz → decide → offer
“That was our biggest mistake,” the father said.
asserted
father → say → ?
The family paid in stages, starting with 2.2 million rupees ($7,900) for university fees, Ijaz said.
asserted
Ijaz → pay → fees
Noman later claimed Harvard needed a statement proving 7.2 million rupees ($25,900) in funds, which he insisted had to pass through his account to be converted into dollars.
asserted
he → claim → dollars
…and 49 more, not listed.
The Aporia
