GUJRAT: The Punjab government is going to establish a medical college in Mandi Bahauddin city.

Initially, it will run in an academic block of the University of Rasul campus, said an official of the varsity administration.

He said the name of the medical college is yet to be decided as the provincial cabinet of Punjab had recently approved some amendments to the UoR act to pave the way for its establishment. .

Official sources said Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman had been striving to establish a medical college in his native district. Earlier, he had got established the University of Rasul around a year ago.

Mandi Bahauddin Deputy Commissioner Adeel Haider told Dawn that 100 seats of students had been approved. He said classes would commence from February next.

An inspection team of the UHS had also visited the UoR campus a couple of weeks ago to review the site for the medical college.

It is learnt Mandi Bahauddin DHQ Hospital may be given a status of a teaching hospital as a stopgap arrangement until the approval of budget for its own teaching hospital.

Earlier, in 2009-10, the Punjab government had established the Nawaz Sharif Medical College in Gujrat city as a constituent college of the University of Gujrat whereas the college was affiliated with the UHS under a unique arrangement since the budget for that college was being provided by Punjab Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department until four years ago.

However, the NSMC was later separated from the UoG and placed under the administrative control of SHC&ME by the Punjab government of then chief minister Chaudhary Parvez Elahi in 2022 to avoid complications.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2026