Fulbright | Pakistan

The board overseeing the Fulbright programme, the prestigious exchanges between US and foreign scholars, quit on Wednesday, accusing President Donald Trump’s administration of political interference. Members of the board, nominated by successive presidents, voiced alarm about “injecting politics and ideological mandates” into a long non-partisan programme. “The current administration has usurped the authority of the board and denied Fulbright awards to a substantial number of individuals who were selected for the 2025-2026 academic year,” the board members said in a resignation statement posted online. “The administration is also currently subjecting an additional 1,200 foreign Fulbright recipients to an unauthorised review process and could reject more,” it said. “We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute.” The board members chose to resign rather tha...