- By Ajeet Kumar
- Wed, 30 Apr 2025 10:28 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
A pro-Pakistani event at Harvard's South Asia Institute, supported by Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal and family, sparked outrage among Indian students in the US. According to reports, an event "Pakistan Conference 2025" was organised at the college where Pakistani officials, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and US Ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, attended as delegates.
The event came days after a deadly attack on Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam in which 26 people were killed. The attack triggered anger in India. The attack was initially blamed on The Resistance Front, linked to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, though the group later denied involvement.
Indian students wrote letter to Rubio
According to a report by the Times of India, two Indian students slammed Harvard for hosting officials from a country they say backs terrorism. Surabhi Tomar and Abhishek Chaudhuri, Indian students, wrote to Harvard’s leaders and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling the event wrong and demanding Harvard denounce the attack. They also urged the US to stop hosting representatives of a nation that supports violence against civilians.
"Welcoming representatives of a government that enables or justifies terrorism risks Harvard being complicit. The United States must not host representatives of a state that protects and promotes organisations targeting civilians based on faith," TOI quoted a letter addressed to Rubio.
The report claimed that the college clarified that Pakistani students organised the event, with the institute only providing logistical help. Tensions rose when it emerged that the institute’s Executive Director, Hitesh Hathi, joined a panel with historian Ayesha Jalal to discuss religion and modernity in Pakistan. Harvard later deleted event details from the institute’s website, likely to dodge further criticism, but has not officially addressed the issue.
India-Pakistan tensions
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and emphasised the need for justice and accountability. He also expressed concern over rising tensions between India and Pakistan, warning that "confrontation could have catastrophic consequences." Guterres stressed that the region and the world cannot afford a confrontation between the two nations.