By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Imperial College London rejected assertions by the Punjab government in Pakistan that the prestigious British university intended to open a campus in Lahore, calling the reports “incorrect” and emphasising that all of its campuses remain in the United Kingdom.
The denial came after a series of announcements from Pakistani officials, including Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, and other provincial leaders, who had heralded the supposed development as a major step in establishing an information technology hub named after Nawaz’s father, the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
On Oct. 18, the official X account of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the party led by the Sharif family, posted details of a meeting chaired by the chief minister. The post described plans for a campus of Imperial College London at the Nawaz Sharif IT City, with a foundation stone to be laid in November. “A modern 300-bed hospital will also be built within the college campus,” the post said.
In a separate post on X that day, Punjab’s senior minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, echoed the announcement. “A campus of Imperial College London will be established in the Nawaz Sharif IT City which will also include a state-of-the-art 300-bed hospital and its foundation stone will be laid in November.” That post has since been deleted. The Punjab government’s official X account also reiterated the claims, amplifying the news across social media and local outlets.
But Imperial College London, one of Britain’s leading research universities, moved swiftly to correct the record. “Reports that Imperial College London plans to open a campus overseas are incorrect,” the institution said in a statement posted on its official website. “There have been erroneous reports in the media and online that Imperial is opening a campus at Nawaz Sharif IT City in Lahore, Pakistan… Imperial has no such plans, with all the university’s campuses based in the UK.”
The college directed those seeking information on its international engagements to its International Relations Office webpage, underscoring that its global activities do not include overseas campuses.
The discrepancy highlighted apparent confusion over the project’s details. In a separate statement, the Punjab Central Business District, a provincial government department tasked with urban regeneration projects, clarified that the initiative involved not the university itself but a collaboration with a related British health entity. “The upcoming healthcare university and affiliated medical college at CBD NSIT (Nawaz Sharif IT) is a collaborative initiative between NovaCare and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (UK) — an independent NHS institution,” the department said.
It added that the project “remains firmly on track under the NovaCare–ICHT partnership, advancing our mission to establish a world-class hub for healthcare education, research, and innovation at CBD NSIT, Lahore, under the direct supervision” of the Imperial College Healthcare trust. he trust, part of Britain’s National Health Service, operates hospitals affiliated with Imperial College London but functions as a separate entity.
NovaCare, a Pakistani health care organisation, appears to be leading the local side of the partnership, though details on the collaboration remain limited. The episode drew commentary from alumni and observers in Pakistan. Javed Hassan, a former chairman of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission and an alumnus of Imperial College London, expressed skepticism on social media. “As an alumnus of Imperial College London, he was ‘briefly bemused by the bold claim of a campus in Nawaz Sharif IT City,’” Hassan wrote. “Turns out Imperial College is less adventurous — its campus plans remain firmly UK-bound. Verification, it seems, is still a novel concept.”
The Nawaz Sharif IT City project, envisioned as a flagship development under the current chief minister’s administration, was officially inaugurated in May of last year. At the ceremony, Nawaz highlighted growing interest from international companies. She stated that several international tech giants were showing interest, with 10 companies already planning to establish their offices there.
The sprawling 853-acre site has been designated as tax-free for 10 years to attract investment and foster innovation in Pakistan’s tech sector. The mix-up over Imperial’s involvement underscores the challenges of high-profile announcements in emerging markets, where ambitious projects can sometimes outpace confirmed partnerships. Punjab officials have not immediately responded to the university’s denial, but the Central Business District’s clarification suggests the health-focused initiative will proceed without direct university participation.
Imperial College London, founded in 1907, is renowned for its programs in science, engineering, medicine and business. It has produced numerous Nobel laureates and maintains extensive international collaborations, though it has steadfastly kept its physical campuses within Britain.
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