PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's medical report was submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday which stated that the former premier still suffers from 'residual chest pain'.
The three-time former premier is scheduled to return to Pakistan on October 21, almost 4 years after he left for London in 2019 while serving a seven-year sentence on medical grounds. His brother and former premier Shehbaz Sharif had submitted an undertaking in court to submit medical reports on a regular basis.
However, Nawaz has since stayed in London in self-imposed exile and has not returned to Pakistan.
The medical report submitted today added that Nawaz would require frequent follow-up visits to medical experts to monitor his condition.
Read: PML-N snubs talk of Nawaz’s return delay
PML-N lawyer Amjad Pervez submitted the report to the Registrar's office. It has been prepared by a British physician and issued by Britain's Royal Brompton Hospital – the largest specialist heart and lung medical centre in the United Kingdom.
The party has dismissed speculations that its supremo would put off his plan to return to Pakistan on October 21 even though sources said a group within the party, which followed a reconciliatory policy, had advised him that the time was not right for the move.
The sources told The Express Tribune that the "party’s reconciliatory group" had conveyed their message to Nawaz.
However, the PML-N supremo refrained from immediately commenting on the matter.
The sources continued that the party’s reconciliatory group believed that the people, currently worried about the rising inflation, unemployment and excessive utility bills, were not interested in the PML-N supremo’s return to the country.
Nawaz’s younger brother, PML-N president and former premier Shehbaz Sharif; daughter and party’s senior vice president Maryam Nawaz; and nephew and ex-Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz kicked off a public communication campaign in Lahore and sensed the public’s opinion.
Therefore, the group thought it would be unwise to expect a dignified reception for Nawaz from the people in the current situation.
According to the party sources, the date of the general elections has not been announced yet. They added that it would be better if Nawaz returned to the country close to the general elections or after the date of the polls was announced.
The sources said PML-N stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also repeated these facts in a meeting with Nawaz in London, but the latter had made up his mind to return to the country and asked the party to prepare for his reception.
Contrary to this opinion, another group in the PML-N said if Nawaz’s return was postponed, the party would receive a negative impression in the public and that was why he should stick to his decision to come back to the country.
However, PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said Nawaz’s return to the country on October 21 was final and there had been no change in the programme.
Read the full story at the express tribune website.
