LAHORE: Prime Minis­ter Nawaz Sharif was briefly hospitalised on Saturday after he was diagnosed with a ‘small stone’ in his kidney.

The prime minister, who usually spends Saturday and Sunday with his family in Lahore, arrived here from Islamabad on Friday evening.

“On Saturday morning the premier felt pain in his kidneys and was rushed to a private hospital in Gulberg where doctors thoroughly examined him for more than half an hour. After a CT scan they detected a small stone in his left kidney,” a source in the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz told Dawn. He said the prime minister returned to his Jati Umra Raiwind residence after doctors advised him to take plenty of water and observe some ‘dietary precautions’.

As the news of PM Sharif’s ‘illness’ went viral and interpreted differently on social media, Maryam Nawaz tweeted to clarify the actual health status of her father. “As opposed to the sensational news on media, PM is fine. He is diagnosed with small kidney stone that doesn’t need any intervention,” she said.

According to the source, the hospital registered the premier in a different name to hide his identity. The premier is likely to resume work this coming Monday.

In May 2016, PM Sharif had undergone a successful open-heart surgery in London. In 2011 he had a cardiac procedure called ‘Arterial Fibrillation Ablation’, during which certain complications occurred resulting in perforation of the heart which was in turn treated by open heart surgery.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2017