Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif likely to be shifted to US for better treatment

Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, who is in London for treatment might be shifted to the US next week for better medical care, as per media report on December 9. Sharif was initially diagnosed with falling platelet count while he was in NAB custody over charges of corruption. He is reported to be ailing with multiple diseases of which some are related to failing the immune system for which he was initially shifted to London. The 69-year-old left for London from Pakistan on November 19 in an air ambulance to the UK after the Lahore High Court allowed him to travel abroad for four weeks. The term could be extended further on his doctors' recommendations. The development follows Pakistan Government's written appeal mentioning the charges against Sharif to the UK Government for his return after treatment. 

Read: Pakistan Govt Writes To UK; Seeks Return Of Nawaz Sharif After Treatment

A Pakistani newspaper reported, "Nawaz Sharif is likely to fly to the US on December 16 for medical treatment of his ailment there".

Read: Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif Was Near Site Of Stabbing Incident At London Bridge

Sharif's brain was obstructed

As per reports, the recent diagnosis in London has revealed that the blood supply to a part of Sharif's brain was obstructed causing a low platelet count issue and the surgical procedure facility required to treat it was available only in Boston, USA. Sharif underwent a range of tests, including PET and CT scan, at a hospital in the UK to know the exact cause of his low platelet count at London Bridge Hospital under care of Haematology/Haemoncology at Guy's Cancer Centre, Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital, King's College London, as per his personal physician Adnan Khan's tweet. Adnan also briefed a group of Ministers on his health when they went to London. The former Pakistani PM suffers from a severe form of Thrombocytopenia which is a condition that causes low blood platelet count.

Read: Nawaz Sharif Undergoes PET, CT Scan In London: Reports

Sharif travelled to London on health grounds, despite charges of corruption

Sharif has been residing at the Avenfield flats owned by his son Hasan Nawaz in London since November 20. The former prime minister was lodged in the Kot Lakhpat jail but last month he was sent to the custody of the NAB which is probing the Sharif family in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption case. On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case. On October 29, the Islamabad High Court suspended Sharif's sentence in the Al-Azizia corruption case for eight weeks on medical grounds. The Sharif family has denied all corruption charges and termed them as politically motivated. 

Read: Ailing Nawaz Sharif To Undergo Bone Marrow Test In London: Report

(With inputs from PTI)