Tensions over the recent terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir’s Pahalgam have spilled into the international academic sphere, with Indian students at Harvard University protesting the Pakistan Conference 2025, which is set to be held on campus.
In a letter addressed to Harvard President Dr Alan Garber, Provost John F Manning, Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein, and the Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Kennedy School students Surabhi Tomar and Abhishek Chaudhari voiced “grave concern” over the university’s decision to welcome a delegation of Pakistani officials, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, as per a report by The Print.
The letter, signed on behalf of concerned Indian students, referred to the April 22 attack as a “faith-based massacre.”
“These acts of violence were not indiscriminate — they were calculated attacks based solely on religious identity,” the letter read.
“Harvard must ensure its campus does not become a platform for whitewashing state-enabled religious terrorism,” it added.
They urged Harvard to publicly condemn the Pahalgam killings and reevaluate the optics of hosting Pakistani representatives at this moment.
In a parallel move, the students also wrote to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the State Department to revoke the visas of Pakistani delegates attending the conference.
“The United States must not host representatives of a state that protects and promotes organisations targeting civilians based on faith,” they wrote.
Since then, Harvard has also removed references to the Pakistan Conference 2025 from its official website, suggesting an attempt to downplay its role amid controversy.
The conference, which was scheduled to feature panels on Pakistan’s economy, foreign policy, and regional security, has now become the focal point of student activism.
