Nawaz in hospital with low platelet count

LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has been shifted to Services Hospital Lahore for medical examination and treatment after his condition deteriorated with a sudden drop in his platelet count.

However, according to Geo News late night report, the PML-N supremo was tested for dengue fever at the hospital, but the test results were negative.

“Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is detected to have critically low platelet count (16*10^9/L) that could be due to multiple pathologies, and it requires immediate in-hospital care,” Dr Adnan Khan, Nawaz Sharif’s personal physician, made a public statement while taking to twitter late Monday evening.

Nawaz was shifted to Services Hospital late Monday night under tight security. The law-enforcing agencies cordoned off the hospital, and patients and their attendants were being subjected to strict security checks.

A team of specialists, led by Principal SIMS/Services Hospital Prof Dr Mahmood Ayyaz, examined Nawaz Sharif and conducted the necessary tests to start treatment accordingly. Nawaz has been lodged in a private room, which was readied as soon as it was decided to shift him to hospital.

Earlier, Dr Adnan Khan met Nawaz Sharif for consultation and evaluation in Kot Lakhpat Jail. “He’s visibly unwell and has multiple serious life-threatening health issues of acute nature,” he wrote on twitter.

He recommended immediate hospitalisation for workup and treatment. “The matter is of utmost urgency. I’ve requested the authorities concerned to act in urgency,” he made an appeal through twitter.

Ousted from his office through Panama Papers verdict, Nawaz Sharif has been serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of corruption in Al Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield Apartments references. Currently, he is on a 14-day physical remand, obtained by the National Accountability Bureau in connection with the Chaudhry Sugar Mills (CSM) case. The court ordered NAB to present Nawaz Sharif on Oct 25, 2019.

Meanwhile, in a statement, PML-N President and opposition leader in National Assembly, Shahbaz Sharif, condemned the government for neglecting the health issues of three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, which caused deterioration of his health condition.

He also criticised the government for not shifting Nawaz Sharif to a hospital immediately as his platelet count had reached a dangerous level earlier. “If anything happens to Nawaz Sharif, we will blame Imran Khan for it,” said three-time chief minister of Punjab.

A large number of PML-N activists and leaders of PML-N gathered outside Services Hospital soon after Nawaz Sharif was shifted there.

They chanted slogans against NAB Lahore and Prime Minister Imran Khan. The protesters, mostly youth, blocked Jail Road. The traffic wardens diverted traffic to other routes. On the other hand, police contingents cordoned off the hospital and barred entry of private vehicles. The attendants of patients admitted in the hospital faced problems.

Meanwhile, a vehicle loaded with barriers and protection shields reached the hospital to further protect the presence of former premier. On the arrival of vehicle, the charged activists of PML-N once again started chanting slogans. The protesters also burnt tyres to register their protest.

Elsewhere, in another development, Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Capt Safdar (retd) was taken into custody on charges of hate speech. He was arrested by the law-enforcing agencies from Ravi Toll Plaza in Lahore late Monday night. Geo News reported Police said a case was registered against Safdar on October 11 for speaking against the state institutions.

Capt Safdar and Hussain Nawaz were reported as having alleged on social media that drop in platelet count indicated that Nawaz might have been poisoned.

Geo News reported NAB as saying that Nawaz’s platelet count dropped due to a blood thinner drug. NAB spokesperson said that Shahbaz Sharif was allowed to meet Nawaz. It was on Shahbaz’z insistence that Nawaz agreed to be hospitalised, the spokesperson added.

The TV also reported doctors as saying that the low platelet count could be due to many factor including drugs’ side effects and if the initial treatment didn’t work, Nawaz’s bone marrow test would be conducted.

Also, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb condemned the Imran Khan government for neglecting Nawaz Sharif’s deteriorating health condition despite repeated pleas from Dr Adnan.

Talking to the media here on Monday night, she warned of strong retaliation if, God forbid, his health condition further deteriorated. “We will hold Imran Khan responsible for any mishap. Former PM Nawaz Sharif’s platelet count has reached the danger-level. Dr Adnan kept on stressing the need for attending Nawaz Sharif, who’s a heart patient also, besides having sugar and blood pressure problems. Even the dictatorial governments had a better track record in similar circumstances,” added Marriyum.

About Maryam Nawaz health condition, the PML-N spokesperson said the government had not been giving access to the family doctor, Mr Adnan. In this case, she added, the government was not even providing copies of the medical reports. She accused the Imran Khan government of resorting to unprecedented political victimisation.

Also, Malik Pervaiz, Ali Malik Pervaiz, Azma Bukhari, Mian Waheed and Khwaja Imran Nazir also criticised the government for not taking proper care of Mian Nawaz Sharif in NAB custody and the jail cell.