Lahore Jinnah Hospital’s Institute of Cardiology renamed to Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team has reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, the iVerify Pakistan team investigated the claim by checking whether the Punjab government addressed the matter.

Multiple posts and an image of a notification circulating on social media since May 30 claimed that Lahore Jinnah Hospital’s Institute of Cardiology was renamed the Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases. However, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari rejected the notification as being fake.

Jinnah Hospital, named after Pakistan’s founder Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was established in 1996 as a teaching hospital in Punjab. It began operations in 1994 with minimal facilities before expanding later on.

HOW IT STARTED

On May 30, 2024, Hum News journalist Shakir Mehmood Awan posted a collage of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital.

The caption of the post said, “The name of Quaid-i-Azam was removed and replaced with Maryam Nawaz’s name. The name of the under-construction hospital named after Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was changed. The name of Lahore Jinnah Hospital’s Institute of Cardiology was changed. The name of the under-construction hospital was changed to Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Lahore. The board of management of Allama Iqbal Medical College Jinnah Hospital approved it in the name of the Punjab chief minister.”

The post gained over 48,000 views.

A notification was shared by an X account named PTI Politics Update, seen by 12,000 users.

The caption of the post said, “Cardiology institute alligned with Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital has been Named as Maryam Nawaz Institute of CVD. Madam thief minister is going to name every new project on her name now! Shameful!”

The notification was purportedly from the Punjab government’s specialised healthcare and medical education department and dated May 29.

It said the hospital’s management board had approved the name change.

The same notification was forwarded and circulated on WhatsApp.

METHODOLOGY

A fact check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and since it concerned a senior government official allegedly renaming an institution after herself.

To verify the claim, social media accounts affiliated with the Punjab government were investigated, yielding an X post on May 30 of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari who shared the alleged notification.

She said, “This fake notification about the Punjab government is circulating, which is strongly rejected. No hospital’s name is being changed.”

The notification dated May 29 also does not appear on the department’s website that lists all notifications issued. The last notification posted there was on May 17 related to recruitment.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim regarding the notification saying that Lahore Jinnah Hospital’s Institute of Cardiology was renamed the Maryam Nawaz Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases is false.

The Punjab government spokesperson herself debunked the notification and said there was no truth to the matter.

Evidence and References

May 30, 2024, X post of Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari:
https://perma.cc/ATN9-MZMR