Maryam thanks govt as complaints about Nawaz's 'deteriorating health' are addressed

Published March 23, 2019
Maryam Nawaz has accused the government multiple times of trying to prevent her and Sharif's physician from visiting him. — File
Maryam Nawaz has accused the government multiple times of trying to prevent her and Sharif's physician from visiting him. — File

Hours after PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz posted a series of tweets about former minister Nawaz Sharif's health — which she claimed has "deteriorated visibly" — and the alleged inaction by the government who she claimed were not allowing her and Sharif's personal physician to meet him, a new tweet thanking the government was posted.

"I am told that MNS’s blood samples to check his renal function (urea & creatinine) have been taken," she wrote, referring to her father. "Thank you very much. I hope the lab results, as soon as they come, will also be shared with me."

And then: "Permission to meet MNS also granted. Thank you again," she said, without naming her addressee.

A few hours prior, Maryam had retweeted a post by Dr Adnan, Sharif's personal physician, in which he had claimed that the former prime minister has a dull ache in his sides. Citing "underlying Chronic Kidney Disease (Stage 3) and Nephrolithiasis besides significant heart disease" as the reason for his emergency visit, the physician had claimed that access to Sharif was denied by jail authorities.

"Jail authorities are requested to get Complete Renal Profile and Ultrasound KUB done to assess renal status," he had requested.

What followed was a flood of tweets by Maryam in which she sought to call attention to the claim that Sharif's renal condition is worsening and that his doctor "was made to wait [for] 2 hours outside [the] jail, was not allowed in and sent back".

At one point she even vowed to stand outside the jail tomorrow until access is granted to her, but later said she would forgo the plan on her father's instructions.

Govt's rebuttal

Maryam in her tweets claimed that letters requesting permission to visit her father had been sent by her without any response given in turn by the government.

This prompted the Punjab chief minister's spokesperson, Shahbaz Gill, to issue a series of video messages in which he talked in detail about Sharif's daily activities, food intake and health indicators such as blood pressure, rejecting all claims made by the former premier's daughter.

Gill, in response to Maryam's tweets about the letters, said that one had been sent on March 21 and was received today whereas the second she had tweeted about (dated March 22) had not been received as yet and will likely arrive in a day or two.

He called into question the alleged manner in which Sharif's health continued to be "politicised and used as a tool for vengeance" and regretted the way "false propaganda" was being spread, that too ahead of March 23.

The spokesperson assured Maryam that her father was receiving the best of medical attention and had not complained of anything in the past 12 days with the exception of a dull ache in the tooth for which a dental surgeon was called in immediately.

He said that blood and urine samples had already been taken and sent to the laboratory and promised that the results will be shared as soon as they arrive.

Shahbaz Gill addressing Maryam's tweets. —DawnNewsTV

Maryam has accused the government multiple times of trying to prevent her and Sharif's physician from visiting him, with the government refuting all such claims each time.

Sharif is serving a seven-year imprisonment sentence in the Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case.

The 69-year-old underwent heart surgery in London in May 2016. He has undergone cardiac procedures twice during the past eight years.

In view of his health condition, the Punjab government has offered him treatment at the hospital of his choice which he has repeatedly declined. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry says Sharif wants to go to London for his treatment.

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...