PM undergoes successful bypass operation

Nawaz regains consciousness; to stay in ICU for next few days; seeks mother’s blessings before operation; Maryam says all arteries successfully grafted; members of family meet Nawaz; Shahbaz felicitates nation; world leaders, people from all walks of life pray for early recovery of prime minister

LONDON/ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif underwent a by-pass operation suuccessfully in a London hospital on Tuesday.

His daughter says her father underwent a successful open heart surgery, his second cardiac procedure in five years. “Surgery successful,” his daughter, Maryam, said on her Twitter account about four and a half hours after she said the operation had begun.

Nawaz Sharif became conscious after a few hours of the surgery that went on for four hours and family members met him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Earlier, she said her father “was in high spirits” as he was taken in for an operation for a “perforation of the heart”, a complication from a 2011 procedure.

She gave the news that “All arteries successfully grafted Alhamdolillah. “The prime minister is expected to stay at the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital for a few days before being shifted to his room.

“The doctors will advise when he can leave the hospital and travel,” Maryam said in an earlier tweet. Nawaz, 66, has travelled to London for medical treatment several times over the past year.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly on Tuesday offered prayers for Nawaz Sharif’s early and speedy recovery. Sher Akbar Khan led the prayers on the request of NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

PM Nawaz Sharif also talked to his mother on the telephone. “Mother, I am well. I need your blessings,” he told his mother before moving to the hospital for his surgery. He also talked to his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif before going into the operation theatre.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said doctors were satisfied with the results of the surgery. People from all walks of life offered prayers for the early recovery of PM Nawaz Sharif. Students and teachers of two colleges working under the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) offered special prayers.

A prayers ceremony was held at the Wapda House on Tuesday. A collective prayer was also held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Leaders of the Islamic world participating in the 15th General Assembly Meeting of the OIC Standing Committee on Science and Technology (COMSTECH) on Tuesday prayed for the speedy recovery of the PM.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) President Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali also expressed concern over the prime minister’s illness. The Hindu community of Rawalpindi and Islamabad also offered special prayers for the health of Nawaz Sharif at the Krishna Mandir Rawalpindi.

NA Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi met PM Nawaz Sharif in London before he underwent an open heart surgery. World leaders have prayed for the complete and speedy recovery of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from his heart surgery 

In their separate messages, they expressed their heartfelt sympathies and wishes for his fast recuperation These leaders include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond. President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned Nawaz Sharif in London and conveyed his best wishes for a successful heart surgery and speediest recovery. The prime minister expressed gratitude for President Erdogan’s thoughtful gesture and conveyed profound thanks for his best wishes and prayers 

A statement issued from foreign office says Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and expressed gratitude for wishing him a speedy recovery. –- Agencies

Our correspondent adds from Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif congratulated the nation on successful bypass surgery of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London. He said due to blessings of Allah Almighty and prayers of the nation, all phases of the surgery had been completed successfully and he was well. He thanked mothers, sisters, daughters, youth and elders of the nation who prayed day and night for successful operation of PM Nawaz Sharif. He said successful operation of Nawaz Sharif was good news for the nation and expressed the hope that he would be among their people. Shahbaz said after successful surgery, the prime minister was recovering fast.