ISLAMABAD: A team of doctors who examined and collected samples from former first lady Bushra Bibi in Banigala on Thursday have found no symptoms of slow poisoning in her body, according to one of the doctors who was part of the medical team.

The medical team inclu­ded doctors from Islama­bad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore.

Ms Bibi’s lab samples were collected days after she, her husband Imran Khan and several PTI leaders claimed that the former first lady had been slow poisoned in the sub-jail, where she is serving her prison sentence in the Toshakhana reference.

Talking to media persons, Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Asim Yousuf said Ms Bibi has not been tested for slow poisoning and there were no symptoms of the same.

Shaukat Khanum, Pims doctors say she is ‘perfectly alright’; Raoof Hasan claims no lab in Pakistan can detect slow poisoning

Mr Yousuf added that the former first lady had health-related issues for almost two months, and she was “perfectly alright” when the team visited her.

“She herself said she was all right, and there was no evidence that she was poisoned,” he said.

While replying to a question, the doctor said no samples were collected to identify the slow poisoning. “Only blood samples were collected, and Gas­troscopy was suggested.”

Other team members of the medical team included Dr Ayesha Javed from Pims’ Department of Gen­e­ral Medicine, Dr Ayesha Afzal from the Depart­ment of Ophthal­mology, Dr Am­­m­­ara Aslam from the Dep­a­rtment of ENT and Dr Maria Baloch from the Dep­artment of Gastroenterology.

The report

According to the medical report, seen by Dawn, Ms Bibi, 51, had “no previous co-morbid illnesses” when she was tested on Thursday.

“According to the patient, she took some food two and half months ago that caused burning sensation in the epigastrium, swelling of lips, watering of eyes and dryness of skin. This continued for a few hours and then improved.”

Over the next few days, the former first lady complained of “experiencing a bad taste in the mouth” with occasional pain in the abdomen and early satiety.

However, she didn’t experience any odynophagia — pain while swallowing — or dysphagia — a medical term for swallowing difficulties.

The report added that Ms Bibi did lose some weight during the initial weeks of her incarceration, but the weight has now been regained.

“Currently, [the] patient complains of bad taste in mouth and occasional mild lower abdominal discomfort. She also complains of occasional ear blockage but no other ear or nasal symptoms,” it stated.

The report added that Ms Bibi’s medical history and physical examination showed “no such signs or symptoms” that would raise any concerns.

While talking to Dawn, a senior official of the health ministry said that the medical team collected samples in compliance with court orders.

The official, who wished not to be named, said since it was a high-profile issue, the ministry would “prefer to stay away” from the matter.

“[Other] government officials such as the information minister may ann­ounce more details about the issues and reports.”

Recriminations

Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari said four doctors of Pims collected Ms Bibi’s samples, and there were no symptoms of poisoning.

“Unfortunately, both husband and wife are habitual liars,” she added.

Meanwhile, PTI’s Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan said that there was not a single laboratory in the country that could detect slow poisoning.

While talking to Dawn, Mr Hasan also criticised the Punjab information minister’s statement, saying she was unaware that lab samples needed to be sent to Germany or Canada to confirm slow poisoning.

Meanwhile, PTI leader and former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, who is also admitted in Pims, underwent a number of tests on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024