Pakistan to award 500 scholarships to Bangladeshi students

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has announced a plan to award 500 scholarships to Bangladeshi students over the next five years as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral educational and academic cooperation between the two countries. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the initiative was first conceptualised during Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Bangladesh in August 2025. The programme has been named the “Pakistan-Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor,” aimed at expanding educational exchange and academic collaboration between Islamabad and Dhaka. The officials said the second phase of the initiative was formally launched in Dhaka on May 10, 2026. As part of the ongoing progress, a Bangladeshi delegation has already arrived in Pakistan on a three-week visit, where participants are engaging in academic training and various educational activities under the Knowledge Corridor framework. The Foreign Office said the initiative reflects growing cooperation between the two countries and is designed to promote people-to-people contact alongside academic development. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed satisfaction over the development, stating that the programme represents strengthening ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh and will benefit students while further deepening mutual understanding between the two nations. PU terminates 12 professors who went abroad on scholarships but never returned to serve