Founded as the University of Islamabad in 1967, it was initially dedicated to the study

of postgraduate education but expanded through the 1980s to an interdisciplinarity university offering
under- and post-graduate education.[2] The university has, as of 2015, grown into the largest varsity
in Islamabad with a total enrollment exceeding 13,000 students.[2] The university is on a
1700 acres (or 6.9 km²) campus on the foothills of the Margalla.[4]
Divided into four faculties and nine affiliated research institutes, QAU is among Pakistan's largest
and highest ranked public universities.[5][6] Globally, it has been consistently ranked among the top
700 varsity's in the world by the QS World University Rankings[7] while its regional publications
ranked QAU among 120 in Asia in 2013.[8] The Times Higher Education World University
Rankings ranked it between 501-600 globally and top 120 in Asia in 2014.[9][10]
The university is nationally known for its research, technological advancement, and intellectual
interaction with international institutes, including the United Nations, University of Tokyo and
the ICTP.[2][11] It is one of the most popular universities in the country and counts several public
figures and intellectuals among its current and former faculty, researchers, or alumni since its
establishment. They include Maleeha Lodhi, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Nasim Zehra, Shamshad
Akhtar, Suhail Zubairy, Farzana Aslam, Tasneem Zehra and Salma Zahid. The university is currently
led by Dr. Javed Ashraf.