Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s condition is improving as his platelets count increased to 20,000 from 7,000, Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) Principal Dr Mahmood Ayaz said on Thursday.
Dr Ayaz added that the bone marrow of the patient is “completely functional”.
The hospital administration confirmed today that according to initial test reports, Nawaz Sharif 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.
Earlier in the day, Dr Ayaz had said that the patient 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.
According to sources in the hospital, the incarcerated prime minister refused to be shifted to the PKLI.
Bail petition filed in LHC
Meanwhile, a request was filed today at the Lahore High Court by Shahbaz Sharif, PML-N president and younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, seeking bail for Nawaz in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills reference. The court asked the National Accountability Court to submit a response, adjourning the hearing till tomorrow.
The court also asked that a detailed report on Nawaz’s health be submitted by the Punjab government and summoned Dr Ayaz for tomorrow’s hearing.
During the hearing, Shahbaz’s counsel contended that Nawaz’s health was a matter of “life or death” and informed the court that Dr Raza Shamsi had specially been called over from Karachi, and that he, along with Dr Ayaz is overseeing Nawaz’s treatment.
Separately at the LHC, a petition was also filed by Maryam Nawaz, seeking her own bail in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills reference against her. NAB was instructed to file a response to this petition as well, by tomorrow.
