Haripur (TDI): Fifteen students from Sri Lanka and six from Afghanistan completed their studies under the Allama Iqbal Scholarship Program. The students were enrolled in Pak Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (PAF-IAST).
The students were awarded degrees in the first convocation of the Institute, held at Jinnah Convention Centre, on May 31, 2025.
PAF-IAST is an institute established in collaboration with several Austrian institutes and is housed in the scenic and beautiful Mang village in Haripur.
Allam Iqbal Scholarship Program is run under the Higher Education Commission and is mostly known for facilitating Afghan students who wish to pursue education in Pakistan.
The passing out of 15 Sri Lankan students, in addition to Afghan graduates, is a telling that the scholarship is expanding and students from other countries are also taking an interest in studying in Pakistan.
Among the Sri Lankan graduates, Shamikh ul Haq earned a gold medal in B.E. Chemical Engineering. His father was also present to celebrate this occasion; travelling all the way from Sri Lanka.
The Allam Iqbal scholarship covers tuition fee, accommodation, as well a monthly stipend. It was introduced, for the very first time, in 2009 and has largely been a scholarship particularly for Afghan students.
For the third phase of the program, 22,000 applications were received against 4500 scholarships. The program has a fixed 33% quota for female Afghan students, which is another reason why the scholarship is increasingly sought after.
The Afghan Taliban have kept the doors of schools and higher education institutes closed for girls and women, since they took over Kabul in August, 2021. Despite internal and external pressure, the de facto rulers of Afghanistan have remained unhinged in their decree prohibiting females from education.
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