Daily Times

Pakistan deplores the “public notice” jointly issued by the University Grants Commission of India (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), advising Indian students against pursuing higher education in Pakistan, the Foreign Office said on Monday.

The UGC and AICTE had warned native and overseas Indian students planning to pursue higher studies in Pakistan that they will be denied employment as they do not recognise the “degree courses done only in online mode without prior approval”, Indian media reported.

The FO issued a statement to rebuke the move on Pakistan’s behalf. “The tone of the ‘public notice’ is not only threatening towards the students but it also reeks of tyrannical authoritarianism. It is regrettable that driven by its incurable obsession with Pakistan, the Government of India is unabashedly coercing the students in order to deter them from pursuing quality education of their choice,” the statement read. It stated that the contents of the advisory have further exposed the BJP-RSS combine’s deep-seated “ideological animus and chronic hostility” towards Pakistan.

It is deplorable that as part of its mission “Hindu Rashtra,” the Indian government has resorted to such moves in order to stoke hyper-nationalism in the country, the FO statement read. A clarification has also been sought from the Indian government on the “public notice.” The FO said Pakistan reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to this openly discriminatory and inexplicable action by India.