Nawaz’ angiography not carried out despite lapse of 4 days

LAHORE: Despite passage of four days after Jinnah Hospital’s medical board recommended that former premier Nawaz Sharif should undergo an angiography, no decision on the procedure had been made so far.

Friday was the eighth day for the ousted PM at Jinnah Hospital where he was shifted from Central Jail Kot Lakhpat on February 15.

Dr Muhammad Adnan Khan, personal physician of the former PM, told reporters during his visit to the hospital on Friday that the hospital had not offered angiography so far.

To a question whether Nawaz Sharif had refused to undergo the procedure at Jinnah Hospital, Dr Adnan said nobody had refused. “We have been told by the principal (Prof Dr Arif Tajammul, who heads the medical board) that the government had not given a go-ahead so far, for angiography,” he added. Dr Adnan said the administration had also informed the family that the hospital would not carry out angiography unless the government gives the hospital a go-ahead in this regard.

To a question, Dr Adnan said the principal and the government would be responsible if Nawaz Sharif’s health deteriorated.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, who had been serving a seven-year jail term in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills case, was visited by his daughter Maryam Nawaz and brother Shahbaz Sharif on Friday. Both avoided talking to the media about the decision on angiography.

Jinnah Hospital Medical Superintendent Prof Dr Asim Hameed told reporters on Feb 19 that no procedure could start without the consent of Nawaz Sharif.

Sources in the hospital claimed that Nawaz Sharif’s family was reluctant to go for angiography at Jinnah Hospital. They added the hospital did not even receive response from the Punjab government over the recommended angiography, owing to which the hospital administration was finding itself helpless. They added without the consent of the patient, it could not carry out angiography.

Meanwhile, no PML-N leader was allowed to meet the former PM on Friday.

Shah Ghulam Qadir, Speaker Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), was also not allowed to meet the incarcerated PML-N quaid.

An official of the hospital, seeking anonymity, said there were instructions from the government to allow only family members to meet the former PM at the hospital.

Talking to reporters, Shah Ghulam Qadir said he had adopted proper procedure by requesting the Home Department to meet Nawaz Sharif.

To a question about Indian threats after the Pulwama attack, Shah Qadir said India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to use anti-Muslim and anti-Kashmiri sentiments in his election campaign. He said India had always been defeated on the Line of Control (LoC). He said Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC were standing with the Pakistan Army.

The News could not contact Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal (AIMC) Prof Dr Arif Tajammul, who heads the hospital’s specialized medical board formed for the former PM, despite repeated attempts.