How Laiba helped me learn what living this life in the true sense means is something that will always remain with me throughout my existence as a beautiful gift of friendship that she bestowed upon not only myself but all of her close friends. Her strong character equipped with mental and emotional resilience made her someone whose determination to fulfill personal and professional goals sky-rocketed at most times as what could have been judged through her self-confidence and cheerful optimism. Described as a person who had a positive effect on her counterparts, as well as anyone or everyone who got to socialize with her since she was such a lively person that positively boosting up the mood of a social group instantly, was how she used to leave her mark on people through the depth of connecting, conversing, and communicating deeply in regards to her intellectual capability. Her evergreen love and understanding of music, theatre, poetry, and art were what beautifully articulated the depth of her personality as well as the creative side of her mind and heart. Moreover, she was an avid book lover as she loved to follow a path of learning for the good of herself …

Your daughter stood out amongst our students as a vivacious, bright, articulate and interesting person.  She was very strong on international relations theory, and one could see that she did not compartmentalise what she had learned but applied it creatively to new subjects: you could see her clever mind at work as she was making structured sense of an enormous amount of new information about our complex world.  Coming from Pakistan, she was discovering another continent with its own history, and we could see her adapting admirably to the new environment, with the human and social talents with which she was so well endowed.   We were very privileged here at Glasgow to have had the joy of teaching your daughter.  It must have been hard for you to let her go so far away for her studies.   Now you must feel that you would have wanted to keep her with you for all her all-too-short life, rather than letting her go to Scotland. Thank you for having shared Laiba with us!  We, too, will miss her, and treasure her memory! …

I will always recall ‘meeting’ Laiba for the first time. The unusual circumstances of her being in the mountains of Pakistan while I was at my desk in Glasgow made for a memorable first conversation. The conditions for talking, with the zoom connection continually dropping, were less than perfect but I was very much struck by her determination to have the meeting so she could get on with her work to explore the experiences of women in Afghanistan. Her desire to use her position and the advantages of her education to help understand the situation of those enduring incredible hardship was very moving and inspiring. I am deeply sorry that Laiba did not have the chance to bring her thesis to a conclusion, but I am very grateful for being able to work with her for a short while and to appreciate her passion for the topic and her commitment to those most in need.  …

I only met Laiba on a couple of occasions through sharing classes with her in third year on the Science, Technology and Medicine in the Middle East course. But after reading your post I remembered her well, as I had formed the strong impression of a friendly, bright and curious person when chatting with her after a class. It is a shame we didn’t share more classes. I send my sincere condolences to her family for the loss of their daughter Laiba.  …

I had the joy of living with Laiba in our first year flat together. I remember her smile very well, and I feel so lucky to have been able to start our journeys at university together. We would chat about how important it was to us to cook food that reminded us of home and the comfort it brought us both. I hold my memories I have with her very dear, and I am incredibly sorry to hear about your loss. …

We both came from a Pakistani background, and I would momentarily feel like less of an outsider when we would have small conversations about culture, food and music that no one else would know about. She was the only other person that I’d met at University that spoke Urdu.  In these conversations she would smile, listen, tell jokes, and in those briefest moments gave me a sincere feeling of kinship with someone from a similar background.  I am sorry to to hear about her passing. Please pass on my condolences to her family.  …

I remember Laiba as incredibly bright and always up for a chat. We became friends in first year ESH lectures and braved the debate society events together as brand new Uni students. In later years we were student reps together and bonded over the frustrations of online classes during the pandemic years. We weren’t in touch regularly, but Laiba was someone that you could message out of the blue and feel like no time had passed. I am sincerely heartbroken to hear that she has passed, and she will be sorely missed.  …