Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's condition is improving as his platelets count reportedly increased to 20,000 from 7,000, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal and head of Medical Board treating the PML-N leader, Dr Mahmood Ayaz, said on Thursday.
Nawaz was diagnosed with immune thrombocytopenia. According to the doctors, the disease causes the breakdown of blood cells. The doctors at the hospital declared thrombocytopenia a treatable disease in Pakistan, sources said.
Dr Ayaz said that the bone marrow of the patient is "completely functional". He added that treatment of Nawaz Sharif has been started and results would appear within next four days. He said that Nawaz Sharif has been advised not to have brushing of teeth and shaving.
Dr Ayaz had earlier said that Nawaz would be taken to the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) and Research Centre for a PET (positron emission tomography) scan. The scan is an imaging test that helps reveal how one's tissues and organs are functioning. However, it was delayed.
On the other hand, Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar Thursday and informed him about the latest situation with regard to the treatment of Nawaz Sharif and the steps taken in this regard.
The chief minister directed to provide every possible facility for the treatment of Nawaz Sharif and said that continued contact with the personal physician of Nawaz should also be made.
Secretary Specialized Health and Medical Education Momin Agha, Principal SIMS Professor Mahmood Ayaz and a famous practitioner from Karachi Tahir Shamsi were also present on this occasion.
Earlier, in the morning, Maryam Nawaz who was brought to Service Hospital on parole was sent back to Kot Lakhpat jail early Thursday.
Condemning the move, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Maryam was sent back to the jail at 5am, adding that the PML-N vice president was unwell at the time when she was sent to Kot Lakhpat jail.
Maryam was admitted to the hospital after a meeting with her ailing father. According to a document issued by the Services Hospital Lahore Accident and Emergency Services, Maryam was admitted at 10:03pm in VVIP II. She met her father after the Punjab government accepted her request in this respect.
Doctors conducted her blood tests late at night and her treatment was to begin in the light of the test results. Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Maryam was experiencing high blood pressure and her heart beat was not normal at the time when she was returned to jail.
She said that doctors had decided to admit the PML-N vice president in the hospital after conducting tests, adding that Maryam has not been feeling well for a few days. She said that taking Maryam to jail in this way was another attempt to bring mental agony to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
PML-N Deputy Secretary General Advocate Ata Tarar said that Maryam was not well and her treatment was ongoing. "It is cruelty to send her back to jail without completing [her] treatment," he said, adding that Maryam should be admitted in the hospital until her treatment is completed.
Tarar said that a medical board would provide information about progress in Nawaz's health today. He said that he did not have any reports with regards to Nawaz being sent abroad for treatment.
Marriyum Aurangzeb strongly condemned the shifting of party Maryam Nawaz to Kot Lakhpat jail despite unstable health. She stressed that Maryam Nawaz has been moved back to the jail in this manner in an attempt to cause further mental torture to incarcerated former prime minister and her father, Nawaz Sharif. She said apathetic leaders are not learning a lesson from Nawaz Sharif's deteriorating health.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019