Lahore: A top Pakistani court on Friday granted bail to jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who was undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with an acute immune disorder.
The 69-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo was rushed to the Services Hospital in Lahore from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) office late on Monday night after a massive drop in his platelet count.
A two-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), headed by Justice Baqar Najafi, heard the petition of PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif seeking the release of his elder brother from the custody of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on medical grounds in the money laundering case and accepted it.
However, Sharif will not be released immediately as the Islamabad High Court adjourned the hearing of his bail plea in a separate Al-Azizia steel mills case until Tuesday. The three-time premier’s lawyer Ashtar Ausaf told the court that his condition is “extremely serious” and he should be granted bail. The NAB’s prosecutor did not challenge the defence’s plea, saying since it is a matter of serious health issue of the former premier, it does not oppose his bail. Sharif has been under treatment at the Services Hospital since Monday night after his condition deteriorated in the NAB’s custody.
Dr Ayaz said the board has diagnosed the reason for his declining health. “It is acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a bleeding disorder, in which the immune system destroys platelets. Since Sharif’s platelet counts are constantly reducing, we inject platelets every day but they destruct every day,” he said. “The medical reports of the PML-N supreme leader have been sent to doctors abroad for their opinion,” a party leader said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has also expressed concern over Sharif’s health, saying “political differences notwithstanding, my sincere prayers are with Nawaz Sharif for his health. I have directed all concerned to ensure provision of the best possible health care and medical treatment to him”.
Khan has issued directives to keep Maryam Nawaz with her father Sharif at a leading hospital here after the federal government faced criticism for shifting her back to jail. Maryam was admitted to the Services Hospital in Lahore on Wednesday where she was rushed from the high security Kot Lakhpat jail to meet Sharif on account of his deteriorating health on the directives of Khan and felt sick. (PTI)
