ISLAMABAD: The administration of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) was occupied all day Sunday trying to determine what room would be the most suitable and secure for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Electronic media had been reporting since Sunday morning that Sharif may be moved to Pims, because of which the hospital’s management began arrangements to admit him. However, every time arrangements were finalised, it was decided not to admit Sharif as the space was not suitable or secure enough.

Doctors occupied by the situation included Pims Executive Director Dr Raja Amjad, Dr Akhtar Ali, Dr Mohammad Faisal, Dr Aneeza Jalil and Dr Waseem Khawaja.

A doctor from the hospital who asked not to be named said that it was initially decided that Sharif would be admitted to bed no.1 in the coronary care unit, but an hour later it was decided that he should be admitted elsewhere.

“After that, a proposal was made to admit the patient to a private ward on the ground floor where Asif Zardari was admitted years ago when he was in jail and fell ill,” the doctor said.

Then Sharif was to be admitted on the second floor, to a presidential suite. The arrangements were made, but the proposal was rejected because there were no iron grills on the windows and there was an open area there, he said.

“Finally it was decided to admit Mr Sharif to the second floor of the Cardiac Care Centre. Although there were CCTV cameras and other security arrangements there, intelligence agencies installed their own cameras and brought a walk-through gate and mobile phone jammer or blocker,” he said.

Records of staff and those performing duties were also collected by intelligence agencies and security departments, and a clear instruction was given not to change staff, he said.

“It was decided that duty doctors for Mr Sharif’s care would be Dr Akhtar Ali, Dr Mohammad Faisal and Dr Aneeza Jalil,” he added.

Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were sent to Adiala jail on July 13. On July 19, Pims deputed round-the-clock medical teams of female doctors and nurses to the Police Training College Rest House in Sihala where the father and daughter were expected to be shifted, but Sharif and Maryam refused to move to the rest house.

A team from the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology had initially suggested moving Sharif to the hospital, after which a Pims medical board was established to carry out a medical examination and submit a report on whether he should be admitted to the hospital.

According to a July 23 notification available with Dawn, the five-member board was chaired by joint Executive Director Dr Ejaz Qadeer and included professor of general medicine Dr Shajee Ahmed Siddiqui, cardiologist Dr Mohammad Naeem Malik, nephrologist Dr Sohail Tanveer and gastroenterologist Dr Mashood Ali.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2018