Ailing Nawaz Sharif consults medical specialists in UK

Pakistan's ailing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday consulted specialists at the Harley Street after he arrived in London in an air ambulance to seek better medical treatment for multiple diseases.

Sharif's air ambulance flight from Lahore landed in London on Tuesday evening after a stopover in Doha, Qatar. The air ambulance was equipped with an intensive care unit and an operation theatre.

Sharif, 69, was welcomed by his son Hussain Nawaz upon arrival and will be staying at his Avenfield apartment, The Express Tribune reported.

'Father's medical treatment is our top priority,' Hussain was quoted as saying by the report.

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) Party (PML-N) aides were also present to receive the party chief, who was accompanied by his brother Shehbaz Sharif and personal physician Dr Adnan Khan as he was taken to his London residence in the posh Park Lane area of the British capital.

From the UK, he is expected to be flown to the US city of Boston where a medical appointment is already in place with a hospital.

Sharif's return to London has been emotional as he is visiting London for the first time since his wife Begum Kulsoom passed away while undergoing treatment for threat cancer here.

According to Geo News, Sharif's initial treatment will be done at his son Hasan Nawaz's flat and a room has been reserved for the treatment.

All the necessary equipments, as advised by doctors, have been arranged in the room , a source was quoted as saying by the report.

Two doctors at the Harley Street Clinic have been engaged and they will review the situation and then take further decision, the report said.

According to family sources, Sharif's UK doctors have been in regular contact with his Dr Adnan and have been briefed on his medical condition over the last 10 days, Dawn News reported.

The three-time prime minister has been diagnosed with an immune system disorder and doctors in Pakistan recommended that he should go abroad for treatment as his condition continued to deteriorate despite best possible care in the country.

The former Pakistani premier was sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption charges in December last year. Since he was granted bail last month on medical grounds, his party and family members have been working on getting him removed him from a travel ban list to allow him to seek treatment overseas.

Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government had demanded that Sharif pay a bond of 7 billion Pakistani Rupees (estimated USD 45 million) as a condition of his travel abroad – which the PML-N rejected.

After days of deadlock over the condition, he was finally allowed to leave his home in Lahore to travel to London for treatment following an undertaking to court that he would return to Pakistan within four weeks.

Sharif denies all charges of corruption against him and had been granted bail by the Islamabad High Court and Lahore High Court on humanitarian grounds earlier this month.

(PTI)