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Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif agrees to go to London for medical treatment: Report

WION Web Team
Islamabad, PakistanUpdated: Nov 08, 2019, 12:21 PM IST
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File photo of Nawaz Sharif. Photograph:(Reuters)

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Nawaz Sharif was shifted on Wednesday to his residence in Lahore after receiving treatment for multiple diseases at a hospital in Pakistan. 

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly agreed to go to London for medical treatment. 

Sharif was shifted to his residence on Wednesday in Lahore after receiving treatment for multiple diseases at a hospital in Pakistan. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) has been set up at his Jati Umra residence.

On October 22, the ailing former PM was shifted to hospital after his platelets dropped to a critical level of 2000. 

Shehbaz Sharif, president of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) was the main factor behind convincing his brother Nawaz to get treatment in London in a hospital where patients with low-platelet count get private treatment, GEO News reported. Nawaz earlier insisted on getting treatment in Lahore. 

Doctors said that platelets count of at least 50000 is required for air travel and the ex-PM will be given a high dose in order to increase the platelets which will allow him to travel to London.

A source close to Nawaz's family told Dawn news that PML-N had shared with the Pakistani government, the doctors' recommendations. The source added that Maryam Nawaz, daughter of former PM, will not accompany him to London as her passport is with the authorities for bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case.

Sharif is expected to leave for London this week if his name is cleared by the government from the Exit Control List (ECL).

Pakistan's Interior Minister Ijaz Shah hinted that government will not be a hindrance if Sharif wishes for treatment abroad. "If going abroad for treatment is the only option for Nawaz Sharif, then the government will find a way," Shah earlier had said.

The High Court in Islamabad had last week granted bail to Sharif for eight weeks, suspending his seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case on medical grounds. Earlier, he was given bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case on the same ground by the Lahore High Court.

On December 24, 2018, a court sentenced Sharif to seven years in the Al Azizia corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case. On October 25, Sharif was granted bail in Chaudhry Sugar Mills case after he was diagnosed with an acute immune disorder.