Punjab government refuses to extend bail granted to Nawaz Sharif for treatment abroad

Pakistan's Punjab government on Tuesday refused to grant permission to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to extend his stay in London on medical grounds and asked him to either return to the country or face court.

Sharif, 70, left for London in November last for treatment after the Lahore High Court allowed him to go abroad on medical grounds for four weeks.

According to Sharif's physician, the three-time prime minister is suffering from complex multi-vessel coronary artery disease and substantial ischemic and threatened myocardium for which he is due to undergo surgery.

The court directed Sharif to seek further permission in his stay in London from the Punjab government. The Islamabad High Court had given Sharif bail in the Al-Azizia Mills corruption case in which he was serving seven years imprisonment at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, allowing him to go abroad for medical treatment.

On the recommendations of the government medical board that examined the reports of Sharif, the Punjab government on Tuesday announced that "no further extension to his stay abroad can be granted and he must return."

Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat and his Cabinet colleagues told a press conference that the Punjab government committee has decided in principle not to grant permission to Nawaz Sharif in his stay abroad further.

The ministers said the Islamabad High Court had granted bail to Sharif for eight weeks in October 2019.

"Till a decision by the Punjab government, this bail was to be automatically extended for 16 weeks. But till today Sharif has not been admitted to any hospital in London and nothing specific about his health shared with the government," minister Basharat said.

The Punjab government has decided not to grant Sharif further extension in his stay in London as there is no legal, moral or medical ground which could provide the basis for it,” Raja said and adding the Punjab government will inform the LHC about its decision.

Reacting to the Punjab government's decision, the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has termed the decision of the Punjab government "political victimisation of the fascist regime of Prime Minister Imran Khan."

PML-N president and Nawaz Sharif's younger brother Shahbaz Sharif said: "The Imran Khan regime is trying to snatch the right of living from the three-time premier."

He said as the government has miserably failed to deliver it is doing politics on the health of Sharif to divert the attention of the masses from the real issues.

"We do not accept the government's decision and will continue getting his treatment in London," Shahbaz said.

The PML-N lawmakers also held a demonstration outside the Punjab Assembly to protest against the decision.

The PML-N has said that it will take up the health case of Sharif with the high court.

Meanwhile, the medical reports suggest that Sharif requires continuous monitoring by the doctors in London. The medical reports prepared by the London doctors have not so far advised Sharif about air travel.

Dr. David Lawrence, a cardiac surgeon known for performing minimally invasive chest surgery and lung cancer surgery, penned the report detailing Sharif’s medical history from 2003 to 2019 as well as his current treatment plan.

"The stability of health care management is of vital importance for the patient, hence he (Nawaz Sharif) should remain under the care of his healthcare providers in the UK until his diseases are adequately addressed," Dr. Lawrence said.