Jailed former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif hospitalised

Islamabad, July 29: Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently lodged in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail after being convicted in corruption case has been shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). It was reported last week that Sharif was on the verge of a kidney failure and doctors had recommended to shift him to a hospital. The decision to shift Sharif to hospital was taken by the caretaker Pakistan government, the Pakistan media reported.

Shaukat Javed, home minister of Punjab province, said a routine cardiogram preformed on the 69-year-old Sharif in the prison in Rawalpindi indicated the need for hospitalization.

Sharif , 68, is serving a 10-year jail term in a corruption case over his family's purchase of luxury apartments in London. He has been lodged in the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since July 13.

A team of doctors from Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC), headed by its Chief Executive Major General (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani, had visited the prison and compiled a report after carrying out a detailed medical check-up. The report was sent to the Punjab Health secretary. The board's findings suggested that Sharif be shifted to hospital immediately.

Sharif's condition was first highlighted by Dr Adnan, his personal physician who has seen him twice in the past week. Dr Adnan was allowed to visit Sharif only after media reports highlighted the alleged poor conditions in which the former prime minister was being kept.

On July 6, Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were convicted in the Avenfield reference case by the Accountability Court. While Sharif was given ten years of jail and fined eight million pounds, Maryam was sentenced to eight years in jail and fined two million pounds. Also, Maryam's husband, Captain (Retd) Muhammad Safdar was given a one-year sentence without any fine.

The father and daughter were taken to Islamabad by a special chartered flight soon after their arrival at Lahore on July 13, from where they were taken to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.