LAHORE: Former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced on Friday that the Punjab government has released funds to acquire land for a long-awaited Punjab University campus in Gujar Khan, a step that paves the way for construction to begin soon and for the first College of Pharmacy in the region to be established.
He expressed these views during a meeting with president Academic Staff Association of the Punjab University Dr Amjad Magsi at PPP Punjab Secretariat.
Ashraf described the project as a major step forward for the educational future of the area, saying it would give local boys and girls access to quality, advanced and technical education at their doorstep. He noted that the campus will also house the region’s first College of Pharmacy.
Recalling that he had envisioned an education city on 100 acres along the G.T. Road in 1993, Ashraf said that dream was finally being realised. The campus already offers programmes in LLB, BBA, BS Information, BS Information Technology and Commerce. Once the project is complete, he said, students from the Potohar region will no longer have to travel to Lahore or Islamabad to pursue higher education.
Ashraf extended his heartfelt thanks to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif for her personal interest in the project, describing the provincial government’s cooperation as highly commendable. He also expressed gratitude to Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, Punjab University Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Ali, Dr Amjad Magsi and Mian Faisal for their support.
The former prime minister said the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal had backed the Gujar Khan University project by allocating Rs 6.5 billion. He added that the chief secretary of Punjab, the provincial cabinet and all relevant departments of the Punjab government had also extended their cooperation, and he thanked them all.
Turning to the wider state of higher education, Ashraf urged the federal government to increase annual grants to universities in view of their financial difficulties. He said the depreciation of the rupee had reduced the real value of the funds universities receive to less than half, making it increasingly hard for institutions to meet their expenses.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026