File photo. Tolga Akmen—AFP
Former prime minister’s platelet count continues to drop, with doctors as yet unable to identify the cause
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was admitted to Lahore’s Services Hospital on Monday after his health worsened while he was incarcerated, continues to decline, with a government-appointed medical board unable to discern its cause.
Punjab health minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid told a press conference on Wednesday the thrice-elected premier had been admitted to hospital with a platelet count of 10,000. After transfusions, this was brought to 25,000. However, on Wednesday night, the platelet count dropped once again to 7,000, prompting another round of transfusions.
Healthy individuals have a baseline platelet count between 150,000 and 450,000.
Rashid claimed Sharif was ‘stable’ and the government had assured him of the best possible treatment, including offering him the use of any doctor or physician he desired. She said that Sharif had not expressed any desire to go abroad for treatment.
The government on Wednesday night, after much public outrage and due to Sharif’s deteriorating condition, allowed his daughter Maryam Nawaz to visit him in hospital. Currently also incarcerated on judicial remand, Maryam had been denied an earlier request for visitation by an accountability court. She spent an hour with her father before being admitted to hospital herself over her poor health. She was shifted back to jail on Thursday morning on government orders.
Special Assistant to the P.M. on Information Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan posted on Twitter that P.M. Imran Khan had directed relevant authorities to provide best medical care to Nawaz Sharif. “The prime minister prayed for his recovery and expressed best wishes for him,” she added.
A day earlier, she had taken to the airwaves to suggest Sharif was in ill health over his poor diet and not because of any illness. The backtracking does not appear to have soothed Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz).
The opposition party’s secretary general Ahsan Iqbal told media that Khan should be directly held said responsible for Sharif’s ailments. “The PTI’s hatred is clearly reflected in its inhumane actions against Maryam Nawaz, Rana Sanaullah Khan and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi,” he added.