NEW DELHI: IIT-Roorkee has cancelled its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Inonu University, Turkiye, becoming the third central university after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia Islamia to end academic ties with a Turkish university. Lovely Professional University (LPU), a private university, has terminated six MoUs with universities in Turkiye and Azerbaijan.Signed in Jan 2025, the MoU had enabled research collaboration and student and faculty exchange. IIT-Roorkee said the decision aligns with national interest. “Our global partnerships must reflect the values, priorities, and security considerations of our country,” said Kamal Kishore Pant, director of the IIT.Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), Kanpur, a state-govt run university, has also ended similar MoUs, while there are many others reviewing their international agreements with higher education institutions from Turkiye.LPU cited the two countries’ pro-Pakistan stance during recent Indo-Pak tensions as the reason for ending collaborations. These included student and faculty exchanges, joint research, and dual degree programmes.LPU chancellor and Rajya Sabha MP, Ashok Kumar Mittal said: “National security is not safeguarded solely at the borders — it must be defended in every classroom, boardroom, and international collaboration.”On Thursday, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) urged over 1,100 universities to review and, if needed, suspend or end partnerships with institutions in Pakistan, Turkiye, and Bangladesh. The appeal follows a terrorist attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.AIU president, Vinay Kumar Pathak accused these countries of supporting anti-India narratives and called for academic institutions to show national solidarity in their international engagements.