Tanwir Khaliq reappointed SZABMU VC after 2-year void

Islamabad:The federal government has finally filled a long-standing vacuum at the top of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) by appointing Prof. Dr. Tanwir Khaliq as its Vice Chancellor for a four-year term, ending a two-year period in which the country’s premier medical university functioned without permanent leadership.

A notification issued by the Ministry of National Health Services on Monday confirmed the appointment after approval from the President of Pakistan, who is also Chancellor of the university.

This marks the second time Prof. Tanwir Khaliq has been entrusted with the role of Vice Chancellor at SZABMU, which regulates all federal medical and dental colleges and directly oversees the academic and teaching affairs of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Polyclinic Hospital. The absence of a permanent Vice Chancellor had stalled critical decisions on new programs, senate meetings and the university’s permanent infrastructure, undermining its capacity to expand and innovate.

Established in 2013 through an Act of Parliament, SZABMU was envisioned as the capital’s flagship institution for medical education and research, serving as the parent body for Federal Medical College, School of Dentistry, the PIMS College of Nursing, and several allied health programs, while also affiliating with leading private medical and dental colleges in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Officials believe that restoring permanent leadership will stabilize governance, fast-track the expansion of postgraduate programs, and foster advanced medical research. With PIMS and Polyclinic as its teaching arms, SZABMU is uniquely positioned to bridge medical education with healthcare delivery, making the appointment a crucial step towards modernizing Pakistan’s federal health system.