A Gold Medal, A Stolen Dream

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: Laiba Ijaz had done what countless young Pakistanis are told to do. She studied hard, excelled in physics and earned a gold medal. Her reward was not a life of luxury but the hope of another classroom, another country and a future built on knowledge.

For a family with limited means, that dream came at an unbearable price. Her father reportedly sold a plot of land, while her mother’s jewellery was used to help raise money for the promised journey. The family trusted an education consultant who allegedly offered a route to a university in the United States. Instead, the documents proved fake, the money was lost and Laiba was left devastated.

Her death has turned a family’s private grief into a public question. How many parents must sell land, cattle, jewellery or their lifetime savings before the state recognises the dangers faced by families seeking education abroad?

A gold medal should open doors, not become a painful reminder of a dream betrayed. No family should have to navigate a maze of unverified consultants, false promises and forged admission papers without reliable protection.

Pakistan Zindabad means “Long Live Pakistan.” Yet the despair of those who feel compelled to leave has given bitter currency to another phrase, “Pakistan se zinda bhaag” — run away from Pakistan while you are still alive.

It is a cruel line, but the duty of a country is not to silence such despair. It is to understand why it exists and act before another family pays the price.