If the art of deception ever became an Olympic sport, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s self-styled “Mother of Punjab”, would bring home gold without breaking a sweat. From her Calibri-font adventures to her “Imperial College Hospital” that existed only in her imagination, Maryam has once again proven that in Pakistani politics, fantasy is the only functioning industry.

The latest episode in her ongoing political soap opera began with a flourish worthy of a state occasion. On 19 October, the Punjab government proudly announced that Imperial College London was setting up a new teaching hospital and campus in Lahore, a supposed collaboration between one of the world’s top universities and the province’s ruling elite. Cabinet ministers sang hymns of gratitude, government Twitter handles glowed with “historic achievement” hashtags, and the Chief Minister’s loyal courtiers, politely known as “special assistants”, clapped as if the NHS itself was relocating to Model Town.

There was, however, one small problem. Imperial College London had no idea what anyone was talking about.

When a few curious British-Pakistani doctors reached out to the university to confirm this “historic partnership,” the response was an embarrassed chuckle. No, there was no such project, no such collaboration, and no such plan. Within days, the university had to publish a correction on its official website:

“Imperial College London has no plans to open a campus or hospital in Lahore.” And just like that, Calibri Part II was born.

Of course, this isn’t Maryam’s first brush with creative fiction. Her earlier claim to infamy came during the infamous Calibri-gate scandal, when she submitted a trust deed to Pakistan’s Supreme Court in 2017 to prove her innocence in a corruption case. Unfortunately for her, the document was typed in a........

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