ISLAMABAD: The office of the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) on Thursday requested the Punjab government to place the fresh medical reports on the health of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif before the special medical board for evaluation.

The provincial government has been requested to place the Jan 28 document, issued by Dr Fayaz Shawl from Maryland, US, before the nine-member medical board with a request to examine it and evaluate the “known and reported facts and public activities” of Mr Sharif to form an opinion, if any, on this subject, said a one-page letter issued by Secretary Khalid Khan Niazi with the approval of the AGP. The letter has been addressed to Punjab Home Secretary Zafar Nasrullah Khan.

The letter has been issued a day after Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif termed an earlier letter written to him by the AGP’s office — seeking fresh medical reports of his elder brother — “politically-motivated” and in violation of the orders of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

“I have reasons to believe that the issuance of the letter is prompted by political motivation and considerations extraneous to law, constitution of medical board, proceedings by it and the demand raised on its basis through the letter runs counter to the mandate and is completely out of scope of the order (of the LHC) dated Nov 16, 2019,” Shehbaz had written in his reply to the AGP’s office.

In its letter to the Punjab government, the AGP’s office explained that the request for placing Nawaz’s health reports before the special medical board was made in view of the Jan 11 decision of the federal cabinet wherein the AGP’s office had been directed to initiate proceedings for apparent violation of the undertakings given by Nawaz and his younger brother Shehbaz before the LHC.

Earlier on Jan 12, the AGP’s office had requested the Punjab government to consider constituting a medical board to determine the present health condition of the former premier.

“In order to initiate the process of verification in light of the Nov 16, 2019 LHC order, the government of Punjab is requested to constitute a medical board/committee to examine the documents submitted as medical reports on behalf of the petitioner and Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif so that expert medical opinion regarding the physical condition of Nawaz Sharif and his ability to travel back to Pakistan is made available,” the letter had stated.

On Nov 16, 2019, a division bench of the LHC had granted one-time permission to Nawaz to travel abroad as an interim arrangement for four weeks and he was to return when certified by doctors that he has regained health and was fit to return to Pakistan.

The AGP had also reminded the opposition leader that he as well as his elder brother Nawaz had given undertakings before the high court.

In a response, the AGP’s office was conveyed the report of the special medical board that observed that the medical reports of Nawaz did not provide any information about his current clinical evaluation, blood reports, imaging results and any procedures done so far. Therefore, the board was not in a position to render any structured advice or a considered opinion about his current physical condition and ability to travel to the competent authority in light of the available information.

In its earlier letter, the AGP’s office had suggested that apparently the present physical condition of Nawaz Sharif, as available in the media and given the fact that he had left the country claiming to be in extreme critical condition, which prima facie improved significantly after his arrival in London and the fact that he has apparently never been hospitalised and his political, social and other recreational activities have continued uninterrupted and regularly reported in media, may indicate that severe ailment, if any, that may have existed in the past is no longer evident or constraints his activities.

This also indicates that the former prime minister may be fit to travel back to Pakistan, as per the solemn and binding undertakings and commitment made before the LHC, the letter stated.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2022