LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday requested the Centre to form a separate medical board in Islamabad to examine PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif.

The additional chief secretary (Home), Punjab, has written a letter to the Ministry of National Health Services secretary requesting him to constitute a medical board from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, for the checkup of Shahbaz Sharif who is attending the ongoing session in the National Assembly.

Earlier, the Punjab government had constituted a medical board of doctors and experts from the Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore, to examine Mr Sharif, an under-trial prisoner in NAB case.

While in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat central jail, the FJMU medical board had examined Mr Sharif and recommended further management plan explaining different scans and tests.

Since Mr Sharif is in Islamabad to attend parliament session, the National Assembly secretariat had written a letter to the Punjab government for the constitution of a medical board in Islamabad.

Mr Sharif was arrested by NAB on Oct 5 over charges of corruption in the Ashiyana housing scheme. He is taken to Islamabad during every session of the National Assembly after the NA Speaker issues his production order.

The FJMU medical board had earlier examined Mr Sharif at the Kot Lakhpat Central Jail and recommended management plan for DOTA-Octretoide scan to rule out recurrent disease; upper and lower GI endoscopies with biopsies (if required) to rule out pathological gastric wall thickness and recurrent disease in bowel; repeat chromogranin A and B levels for comparison; serum catecholamine/ metanphrine levels, 24-hours urinary VMA and catecholamine levels; MR scan of spine (cervical and lumbosacral); MRI Brain with pituitary protocol; and echocardiography.

The medical board members of Polyclinic who visited Ministers’ Enclave to examine Mr Sharif on Monday, had also suggested another CT (Computed Tomography) scan amid complaints that he had been suffering from backache.

Earlier this month, Mr Sharif’s wife Tehmina Durrani had also complained about delay in formation of a larger medical board for her incarcerated husband. She had tweeted that her visit to her husband had disturbed her.

Stating that Mr Sharif’s pet scans and blood tests were regularly conducted by his doctor in London because he is a cancer survivor, Ms Durrani had showed her outrage and asked, “A board of doctors was to be constituted to check him. That has still not happened. WHY?”

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb also expressed concerns over the PTI government’s failure to show seriousness towards proper medical examination of the PML-N head.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2018