ISLAMABAD, JAN 12: Pakistan and Bangladesh have signed a major educational agreement, enabling Bangladeshi students to pursue fully funded higher education in Pakistani universities, sources in the Higher Education Commission said.

The HEC sources said the first phase of the programme will admit 500 students from Bangladesh into undergraduate programmes at universities in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar.

The scholarship, named after Allama Muhammad Iqbal, covers full tuition as well as additional academic and living facilities.

In December 2025, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, in coordination with the HEC, conducted entry tests in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, and other cities, attracting thousands of young applicants.

Bangladeshi students warmly welcomed the Pakistani officials during the tests and took commemorative photographs with them, reflecting strong people-to-people ties alongside the academic collaboration.