RAWALPINDI: Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar underwent angioplasty at the Rawal­pindi Institute of Cardio­logy (RIC) on Sunday after he was admitted to the hospital because of pain in his chest.

A senior official of the RIC told Dawn that the CJP was brought to the hospital at 12 noon with complaint of chest pain.

He said RIC Executive Director retired Major General Dr Azhar Mehmood Kiani examined the CJP and decided that he needed angiography.

The official said that soon after CJP Nisar was brought to the RIC, the security of the hospital was taken over by personnel of the Pakistan Army. Rangers and police personnel were also deployed in and around the hospital, he added.

When contacted, Dr Kiani told Dawn that when CJP Nisar was brought to the hospital he was suffering from severe pain in chest.

He said that even though his ECG (electrocardiography) and other cardiology pathological tests were normal, the CJP continued complaining of chest pain.

Dr Kiani said that after angiography it was found that one of the arteries of CJP’s heart was blocked.

Answering a question, he said that the artery blockage had been removed through the balloon and that no stent was implanted in the artery.

According to him, after undergoing angiography, the blood flow of a patient becomes normal.

He said that stents were not put in the artery due to the patient’s clinical condition, adding that after the angioplasty CJP Nisar started feeling better. He said complaint of chest pain was the main reason for which the CJP was brought to the hospital.

Dr Kiani said that the condition of CJP Nisar was stable and he would be discharged from the hospital on Monday (today). He said the patient would be kept under observation of senior doctors for 24 hours.

Senior judges of the Supreme Court Azmat Saeed, Ijazul Ahsan and Umar Atta Bandial visited the hospital to inquire about the health of CJP Nisar.

The RIC official said that former chief justice of Pakistan and caretaker prime minister retired Justice Nasirul Mulk and former Senate chairman Wasim Sajjad and others also visited the hospital.

He said the patient was allowed to meet visitors and he talked to them.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2018