Court directs govt to avail ‘appropriate remedy’ regarding Nawaz’s health reports

LAHORE: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Monday directed the federal government to avail ‘appropriate remedy’ after examining the medical reports of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Justice Tariq Abbasi presided the hearing on a petition filed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif against the condition of the indemnity bond imposed by the federal government on the removal of Nawaz Sharif’s name from Exit Control List (ECL).

“You should have filed a civil miscellaneous application for the return of Nawaz Sharif,” Justice Tariq Abbasi told the petitioner’s counsels.

To this, they implored to the bench that medical reports had been submitted and they indicate that Nawaz is not fit to return to Pakistan as he is still unwell.

Additional Attorney General Ishtiaq A Khan pleaded to the court that the bail granted to the former premier had lapsed and Nawaz should have returned to apply for an extension.

Justice Mushtaq Ahmed inquired from the counsels whether Nawaz would return from London. To this Justice Abbasi light-heartedly remarked that “some others are making an effort to go abroad”.

A day earlier, the Punjab government had rejected the medical report of the former prime minister, claiming it was prepared by a private UK doctor instead of his general physician in London.

According to the information obtained by The Express Tribune, the medical report sent by the private doctor lacks details about Nawaz’s treatment with regard to his blood platelet count.

Nawaz, who is serving a seven-year jail term, was granted bail and later allowed to go abroad particularly for the treatment of the ailment responsible for the constant drop in his platelet count.

In November, the former PM’s personal physician Dr Adnan Khan had set alarm bells ringing, saying that Nawaz’s condition was serious as his platelets had dropped to a critically low level.

Sources claim that Nawaz has sent medical reports prepared by a doctor who didn’t even conduct his check-up in London.

According to rules in the UK, the medical summary includes data of a patient’s complete check-up issued by the same doctor who the patient has been seeing on a regular basis as well as the medical history of the patient.