When contacted, Mr Aziz confirmed that he would be joining the BNU as its vice-chancellor. He said his political affiliations had nothing to do with taking up the offer.

“I have remained quite low for the past many months and am not very active on the political scene. So, it has no impact on my joining the BNU.”

In reply to another question, Mr Aziz said he never left the PML-N but had not been very active in politics.

“When I joined the PML-N and accepted any official positions offered to me in the past, it was with the purpose of serving the country and it is the same this time. I feel I will be serving the country and its people in a better way by accepting this offer.”

The spokesperson said the decision to have Sartaj Aziz as the vice-chancellor was taken at a meeting of the board of directors of the BNU Foundation.

BNU started working in September on its temporary premises on Zafar Ali Road in Lahore and will shift to its permanent campus on Raiwind Road in the next two or three years.

The Beaconhouse System of Schools belongs to the wife of Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.