RAWALPINDI: Retired Capt Mohammad Safdar, the son-in-law of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was on Tuesday morning shifted to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC) from Adiala jail after he suffered a severe chest pain.

A senior official of the jail told Dawn that Capt Safdar complained of chest pain on Monday night.

The jail hospital gave medication to the patient but after seeing no improvement he was referred to the RIC by the doctor.

The jail administration then consulted the provincial government which asked it to implement the doctor’s advice.

After he was shifted to the RIC, a team of doctors, headed by the institute’s Executive Director retired Major General Azhar Mehmood Kayani, examined and admitted the patient.

Condition of patient not satisfactory and he is kept under observation, RIC chief says

A senior doctor at the RIC said Capt Safdar was a heart patient and had already got an artery stent implanted. He said pathological tests, including coronary computed tomography angiography, ECG and blood tests, were conducted on the patient.

When contacted, The RIC executive director told Dawn that the condition of Capt Safdar was not satisfactory.

He said the angiography was conducted to check the position of the stent put in the right artery of the patient and its report would be prepared by Eidul Azha.

He said Capt Safdar was also a diabetic patient and his sugar level had increased due to the cardiac problem. He said tests were also conducted on the patient to check the working of his liver, lungs and kidneys.

“We are waiting for the reports and till then the patient is kept under observation. We have started the necessary medication.”

He said dehydration and congested environment was the main reason for the heart problem. “A warm, humid weather and a congested environment are not good for any heart patient,” he said.

Meanwhile, a stent was fixed in an artery of former PML-N lawmaker Hanif Abbasi at the RIC.

Dr Kayani said test reports showed that Mr Abbasi had suffered a heart attack in the jail. He was shifted to the RIC from the Adiala jail on Monday. “The stent was implanted to open the choked artery,” he said.

He said the condition of the patient seemed good but he would be kept under observation for over 48 hours. He said mostly patients were allowed to go to home 48 hours after the implantation of a stent.

The police increased security of the hospital with the deployment of extra personnel. Senior police officers visited the site to check the security arrangements.

On the other hand, the district administration issued a notification to declare the ward where Mr Abbasi and Capt Safdar are kept as a sub-jail.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2018