By Hamza Ameer
Islamabad, Apr 25 (IANS): Pakistan has strongly responded to a public notice by India regarding pursuance of higher education in Pakistan, terming the tone of the advisory as "threatening".
Pakistan Foreign Office issued a response on the matter, expressing its disregard for the public notice jointly issued by University Grants Commission of India and All India Council for Technical Education regarding pursuance of higher education in Pakistan.
"Pakistan strongly deplores the so-called public notice issued by the University Grants Commission of India and the All India Council for Technical Education, advising students not to seek higher education in Pakistan and warning them of being denied employment in case they choose to do so," the Foreign Office statement read.
"The tone of the public notice is not only threatening towards the students 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 added.
Pakistan maintained that the public notice issued by India highlights and exposes "BJP-RSS combine's deep-sealed ideological animus and chronic hostility towards Pakistan".
"It is deplorable that as part of this mission Hindu Rashtra, the Indian government has resorted to such moves in order to stoke hyper-nationalism in the country," the foreign office press release stated.
Pakistan has sought a clarification from the Indian government with reference to the said public notice, terming it as India's "openly discriminatory and inexplicable action".
The Pakistan Foreign Office statement comes in the wake of a notice by India, warning its nationals or overseas Indian citizens who intended to take admission in any Pakistani educational institute or degree programme would not be eligible for employment or higher education in India.
As per details, the public notice has also notified that migrants and their children who had received higher education in Pakistan would be eligible for seeking Indian employment, provided they were granted citizenship and obtained security clearance.
India's public notice has prompted Pakistan's response, which has stated that it "reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to this openly discriminatory and inexplicable action by India".