MoUs signed without security clearance
Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR Apr 12: Three universities of Kashmir have terminated their academic agreements with a United States-based organization, Kashmir Care Foundation (KCF), on the instructions of the Jammu and Kashmir Government.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The SKUAST-K, the University of Kashmir, and Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) cancelled Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) or Letters of Agreement previously signed with the foundation a year ago.
According to a memo, dated March 25, 2026, issued by the Director of Research at SKUAST-K, Prof. Haroon R. Naik, the Letter of Agreement signed with Kashmir Care Foundation on April 15, 2025, has been cancelled with immediate effect.
The University of Kashmir, in a communication signed by Registrar Prof. Nasser Iqbal, stated that the MoU executed on December 15, 2025, had been reviewed by competent authorities and found not to be in the larger institutional interest. “The university exercised provisions under the agreement to terminate it with immediate effect”.
The communication further clarified that no liabilities, financial or otherwise, had accrued to either party and that no funds had been received or disbursed under the agreement.
At Kashmir University, the agreement was meant for furthering educational initiatives through workshops, seminars and other academic engagements in STEM, humanities and related fields.
The Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Awantipora, also announced termination of its MoU with the foundation. “The decision followed a review by competent authorities and invoked provisions under a force majeure clause to cancel the agreement”.
The IUST communication says that no financial or contractual obligations had arisen from the MoU and described the notice as a formal termination of the understanding.
All three institutions cited internal review processes as the basis for their decisions, though no further details were provided regarding specific concerns or findings.
The agreements had been aimed at academic collaboration, including initiatives related to education, research, and exchange of knowledge between the institutions and the foundation.
The coordinated timing of the decisions across multiple institutions indicates a broader reassessment of such collaborations, though each university issued its own independent communication.
The universities terminated the MoUs with KCF after intelligence agencies flagged the activities of the NGO.
The KCF, which is headquartered in Atlanta, United States, and registered as a not-for-profit, non-religious and a political organisation, founded by Kashmiri origin Dr Altaf Lal, had signed MoUs with the universities in 2025, a year after the NGO was founded.
An official said that the cancellation was triggered after intelligence agencies suspect that these platforms are being used as soft channels to disseminate a specific ideological agenda. The involvement of US-based actors has further intensified scrutiny with fears of coordinated influence efforts across borders.
The official said that these universities had signed the MOUs with the US based NGO without seeking security clearance.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
