ISLAMABAD: The United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) said on Friday it encouraged Pakistani students to choose American universities, adding that US-funded exchange programs, including the Fulbright scholarship, remained operational despite broader aid cuts under President Donald Trump.
The statement comes amid rising concern over the cancelation of student visas in the US, which has led to the abrupt departure of hundreds of international students.
Some universities reported that students were asked to leave immediately after learning, in some cases via text or email, that their visas had been revoked.
Several social media posts suggested recently Pakistani students were among those affected, prompting the country’s foreign office to say a day earlier it was seeking details from its missions in the US and would offer assistance to those impacted.
“The United States and USEFP remain committed to promoting the strong and enduring people-to-people ties between the United States and Pakistan,” USEFP said in a statement. “The United States proudly hosts 11,000 Pakistani students at US universities, and we encourage Pakistanis to continue to choose the United States for higher education opportunities.”
The organization clarified that 54 Pakistani students currently studying in the US under the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program would complete their education as planned and continue receiving stipends and related benefits.
“A number of US Government-funded exchange programs remain in place and are available to Pakistanis, including the Fulbright Program,” the statement added. “Fulbright participants in the United States continue to receive their stipends. Assertions that the Fulbright Program has been terminated or that students will be left stranded in the United States are false.”
However, USEFP said the US Department of State was conducting a global review of exchange programs to align them more closely with the new administration’s priorities and would share updates as available.
US education body urges Pakistani students to choose American universities amid visa concerns
https://arab.news/9hytm
US education body urges Pakistani students to choose American universities amid visa concerns
- USEFP says Pakistani students currently in the US will complete their education, continue to receive stipends
- It says several US government-funded programs, including the Fulbright scholarship, still remain in place
Pakistan offloads wheat stocks, boosts provincial supply to stabilize prices
- ECC approves sale of 500,000 tons of wheat, allocates 300,000 tons to Punjab
- Cabinet body also clears utility arrears and approves vaccine and fertilizer funding
KARACHI: Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body on Wednesday approved the disposal of surplus government wheat stocks and a major inter-provincial allocation to stabilize domestic flour prices, as Islamabad seeks to manage food security risks while containing fiscal pressures.
The decisions come as Pakistan grapples with food inflation sensitivity, climate-related supply disruptions and the fiscal burden of carrying large public stocks. Wheat, the country’s staple food, is politically and economically critical because flour prices directly affect household inflation and living costs, and past volatility has triggered public unrest and costly emergency imports.
On Wednesday, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet authorized the sale of 500,000 metric tons of wheat held by the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO), the federal grain procurement agency, through competitive bidding. It also approved the release of 300,000 metric tons to the Punjab government to ensure uninterrupted supplies to flour mills, according to an official statement issued by the Finance Division.
“The disposal of 500,000 metric tons of PASSCO wheat stock through competitive bidding aims at managing surplus stocks, reducing carrying and storage costs, and ensuring price stability in the domestic wheat market while safeguarding food security considerations,” the Finance Division said in a statement following the ECC meeting.
In a related move, the committee approved the provision of PASSCO wheat to Punjab, the country’s most populous province and a key driver of national wheat consumption, to help maintain adequate supplies for flour mills and prevent supply chain disruptions, the statement said.
Beyond food security, the ECC approved a technical supplementary grant - an off-budget allocation used to meet urgent funding needs - of Rs 10.98 billion ($39 million) to clear long-standing liabilities owed by the Pakistan Post Office Department to utility companies, part of broader efforts to address inter-government arrears that have strained public sector finances.
In the health sector, the committee authorized Rs 29.66 billion ($106 million) for the Federal Directorate of Immunization to ensure uninterrupted procurement of vaccines and syringes under the Expanded Program on Immunization, a move aimed at sustaining routine immunization coverage and preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The ECC also approved a Rs 23.42 billion ($84 million) subsidy package for imported urea, to be shared equally between the federal and provincial governments, as authorities seek to cushion farmers from rising fertilizer costs and limit spillover effects on food prices.
