LONDON: Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sha­rif met a cardiac specialist at London’s University Coll­ege Hospital at Westmore­land Street on Saturday as part of an ongoing series of medical assessments and consultations to determine an appropriate course of treatment.

He was accompanied by his brother Shahbaz Sharif, his son Hussain Nawaz and his personal physician Dr Adnan Khan.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif said his brother had consulted Dr David Lawrence, a respected and highly skilled cardiac surgeon who is known for performing minimally invasive chest surgery and lung cancer surgery.

“Today Mian Nawaz Sharif met Dr Lawrence who did a check-up for his cardiac issues,” Shahbaz said. “He has advised further tests. As for Mian sahab’s other issue [haematological immune disorder], the investigation is under way at Guys’ hospital. Next week he will undergo a PET scan which has been suggested by the doctor,” he said.

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test that allows doctors to check for diseases through a three-dimensional scan of the body. The scan uses a special dye containing radioactive tracers which are swallowed, inhaled, or injected into the part of the part of the body being examined. Doctors may order a PET scan to inspect blood flow, oxygen intake, or the metabolism of organs and tissues. While PET scans are most commonly used to detect cancer, they are also recommended by doctors to determine if there is inflammation in the body tissue.

Nawaz arrived in London on November 19, nearly three weeks after he was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court in the Al Azizia case on medical grounds. Since his arrival, the former PM has been consulting with cardiac and haematology experts to determine the cause for his heart issues and severe drop in platelets.

Meanwhile, the government’s chief spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan in Sialkot, questioned the ‘lack of health updates’ from London.

“They kept saying Mian sahib’s life is in great danger and the media used to count every breath he took. [Now that] he has been gone for so long, we have no updates from his representatives whatsoever. The people of Pakistan, who were so closely following his health condition, wish to have more news from him. So does the media,” said Awan during a press conference.

Awan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting, declared that “the truth can never stay hidden”.

“Doctors had said the illness could only be treated abroad. But now, ever since he has been gone, we have not seen a final recommendation by the foreign doctors. We know full well the true nature of his illness and their agenda,” said the spokesperson.

Awan’s remarks come a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed doubts in a public gathering over the nature of the PML-N supreme leader’s health predicament, saying he was shocked to see the way the former premier “ran up the stairs” of the air ambulance. Ironically, the government’s own medical team had confirmed in Lahore that Nawaz Sharif was critically ill, and its recommendations formed the basis for the government’s decision to allow him to travel abroad for treatment.

When asked by reporters in London to comment on Mr Khan’s remarks about Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz said: “I don’t want to say anything about Imran Khan Niazi. It is not appropriate. Whatever you [reporters] have told me, it appears that he has made some low remarks over the past few days.”

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2019