Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif free on medical bail

A supporter of Pakistan former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif distributes sweets after the High court bailed Sharif on medical grounds, outside a hospital, in Lahore on October 25, 2019. (AFP)

• The former prime minister suffered a minor heart attack overnight
• Sharif, who served three times as prime minister, has had a history of health problems, including heart disease

LAHORE: The Islamabad High Court on Saturday granted medical bail to jailed former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is serving a seven-year prison sentence after being convicted on corruption charges last year. 
Sharif was taken to a Lahore hospital on Monday where he was diagnosed with an immune system disorder. 
“The court has granted interim bail to Nawaz Sharif on humanitarian grounds till Tuesday,” Zafrullah Khan, a lawyer for Sharif, told media.
The former PM has also been granted bail in a corruption case involving a sugar mill for which he had been remanded in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau for questioning.
Bail in the Al Azizia corruption case was granted after the NAB told the court during Saturday’s hearing that it had “no objections to bail being granted,” the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
On Saturday, Sharif’s physician said that he had suffered a heart attack in hospital.
“His condition is not good,” Dr. Adnan Khan told Arab News on Saturday.
In a Twitter post, Khan said that his patient’s clinical status was “extremely and critically unstable, putting health and life at risk.”
Sharif’s brother Shehbaz, who is president of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN), filed a bail appeal with the Islamabad High Court on Friday. The court deferred the matter until Tuesday, but a miscellaneous application was submitted on Saturday asking that the case be heard urgently.
In court, Khawaja Haris, Sharif’s main lawyer, said that the former PM had suffered a life-threatening heart attack. He also presented a copy of Friday’s judgment by the Lahore High Court granting Sharif bail in the Chaudhary Sugar Mills case on medical grounds.
On Monday, Dr. Mahmood Ayaz, head of a medical board formed to examine Sharif, told a court that Sharif had acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura, a bleeding disorder that destroys blood platelets in the body.
After Sharif was taken to hospital, PMLN members claimed that his health is deteriorating and the government is delaying treatment.
“Nawaz Sharif has been suffering from multiple diseases for a long time,” senior PMLN leader Pervaiz Rashid told Arab News. “The reports submitted in the courts a few months ago indicated that he was not well, but no heed was paid, which aggravated the problem.”
Muhammad Rafiullah, a spokesman for Punjab’s chief minister, said that Sharif was receiving the best medical care available.
“Every possible measure is being taken to provide medical help for Nawaz,” he said.