Pakistan’s jailed ex-Pm refuses government-offered medical treatment

LAHORE: Pakistan’s ailing jailed ex-premier Nawaz Sharif has refused to go to the hospital despite his family’s repeated requests and offer from the government to be shifted to any hospital of his choice for treatment.
“The health and life of Mian Nawaz Sharif is at threat due to recurring Angina. His condition is of serious concern and demands immediate definitive management but he refused to go to hospital keeping in view the past practices of the authorities concerned,” Dr. Adnan Khan, Sharif’s personal physician, told Arab News.
On Thursday, Sharif’s brother Shahbaz Sharif, who is also the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, his mother Begum Shamim, daughter Maryam Nawaz, along with other family members met the former premier in Kot Lakhpat jail and urged him to accept medical treatment at a hospital but he refused, said Dr. Khan who has kept Sharif’s medical history for the past 27 years. 
A special team of cardiologists from Punjab Institute of Cardiology and King Edward University, accompanied by Chief Minister Punjab’s spokesperson, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, also met Sharif at the prison late Thursday. 
The cardiologists were of the opinion that Sharif’s disease was getting worse and required hospitalization for cardiac care but he refused to accept the government’s offer.
“I visited Nawaz Sharif in the jail with a team of doctors and offered him treatment at any hospital. I conveyed to him the message from the government,” Dr. Gill, told Arab News on Friday.
Sharif’s worried daughter, Maryam Nawaz, also visited the jail on Friday for the second time to convince Sharif, whose health rapidly deteriorates in the prison cell and requires urgent attention. 
“Just met MNS [Nawaz Sharif]. Since he hasn’t agreed to be shifted to the hospital & his heart disease has worsened (according to cardiologists sent by the govt to examine him y’day), I request the Jail authorities to establish an immediate resuscitation and life saving unit on Jail premises,” she tweeted Friday afternoon. 
“Being a 3 times Prime Minister & leader of biggest political party & of millions of people, this is the least he deserves,” she added.
Sharif has repeatedly rejected the government’s offer owing to the past behavior of the authorities. He claimed the government was ‘humiliating him’ by taking him to the hospital and not giving him proper treatment. He said that he would prefer an honorable death over government’s “dishonorable” tactics, according to his family.
“Dr. Gill acknowledged severity of disease as reiterated by cardiologists & on behalf of Government offered admission in hospital which MNS [Nawaz Sharif] politely declined keeping his self respect as most important & in view of treatment meted out to him in previous visits/stays at hospital,” Dr. Khan tweeted after visiting the jail with the government’s team on Thursday.
The Punjab government has constituted five medical boards to date to examine the former prime minister, all of which recommended that the patient has a history of cardiac disease and needs continuous expert cardiac care in a facility where 24-hour cardiology intervention and multidisciplinary backup is available.
Sharif has been taken to different hospitals in the past few months upon the recommendations of these medical boards.