In what is termed an act of self-aggrandizement, the Punjab government has renamed over 2,800 existing public health facilities after the Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
While fact-checking a claim made on X, which says “in addition to renaming the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore, over 2,705 public institutions in Punjab have been named after Maryam Nawaz Sharif,”, Geo News confirmed that, as of August 12, a total of 2,816 primary healthcare facilities in Punjab have been renamed after the province’s chief minister, according to the Punjab Health and Population Department’s official website and a senior official familiar with the matter.
جناح انسٹی ٹیوٹ آف کارڈیالوجی کے علاوہ 2705 سرکاری اداروں کے نام پنجاب میں مریم نوازشریف یا والد نوازشریف کے نام سے منسوب کئے ہیں۔ ان کی تزئین وآرائش و بحالی و تعمیر پر سرکاری خزانے سے اربوں کے فنڈز لگے۔مقصد ایمج بلڈنگ و پارٹی بیعانیہ کو پرموٹ کرنا@akbarbajwa
— Anwer Hussain Sumra (@AnwerHSumra) July 2, 2025
Punjab has 2,500 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and 316 Rural Health Centers (RHCs).
A health and population department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Geo Fact Check that all 2,500 BHUs have been renamed “Maryam Nawaz Health Clinics,” while all 316 RHCs now carry the name “Maryam Nawaz Hospitals.”
Renaming public healthcare facilities after a sitting political leader undermines institutional neutrality, diverts focus from service delivery, and risks politicizing essential services that should remain impartial, serving citizens without fostering personal or partisan glorification.
