ExPak PM Sharif in poor health

Doctors say Nawaz should be shifted to a hospital

Ousted Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is in a prison on corruption charges, is suffering from heart and kidney problems and must be immediately transferred to a hospital from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, doctors have said.

A team of doctors from the military-run Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, headed by its major general (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani, carried out a detailed medical check-up of Sharif after he complained of chest pain and hypertension on Sunday night.

The doctors said the condition of Sharif, who is in Adiala Jail for the past 10 days, has taken a turn for the worse. They said the water level in Sharif’s body is very low, which has made his heartbeat erratic. The amount of urea in his blood has also become very high and could even lead to kidney failure. Dr Kayani said in his report that the former prime minister should be shifted to a hospital as the jail does not have the necessary medical facilities required to treat his condition.

Sharif’s condition was first highlighted by Dr Adnan, his personal physician, who has seen him twice in the past week. Dr Adnan was allowed to visit Sharif only after media reports highlighted the alleged poor conditions in which the former prime minister was being kept.

Sharif was examined by Dr Adnan after he was perspiring profusely during the meeting with his lawyers on Saturday. The team from the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology was called after Dr Adnan insisted on a second opinion.