Pakistan, April 9 -- Suspension of the U.S. Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD) is akin to losing a wise counsellor. For 15 years, this program was never merely about scholarships. It stitched strand upon strand of human relationships; converting Pakistani students into diplomats of cross-cultural exchange. Now, as the program dissolves, it is an echo of a greater unravelling of the ties that once bound the two countries.

The Trump administration's "America First" mantra reshaped more than trade deals; rewriting the rules of global engagement. From Day One, executive orders piled up, many dismantling policies that nurtured international collaboration. Educational diplomacy, a long-standing behind-the-scenes strength of U...