ISLAMABAD: Pakistani leader Imran Khan said Thursday he was offering "sincere prayers" for his political rival Nawaz Sharif, after the ex-premier's deteriorating health saw him moved from prison to hospital this week.
Sharif, who served as prime minister three times before he was ousted in 2017, has been serving time in a Lahore jail for corruption.
But the 69-year-old was taken to hospital on Tuesday when his blood platelet count dropped to dangerous levels, local media have reported.
"Political differences notwithstanding, my sincere prayers are with Nawaz Sharif for his health," Khan tweeted Thursday, adding that he had ordered the "best possible health care and medical treatment" for him.
Sharif's younger brother Shahbaz, who took over the leadership of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after he was jailed, tweeted his concerns earlier this week.
"I am gravely concerned and worried on his fast deteriorating health condition," the younger Sharif wrote Tuesday.
Nawaz Sharif has previously suffered heart problems and has diabetes.
"Several tests are being taken to diagnose the exact nature of the disease and we have serious doubts about his health," another party stalwart, Khawaja Asif, told reporters in Lahore this week.
The Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from politics for life over graft allegations in 2017, and he later received a seven-year jail sentence.
He denies all the corruption charges against him and claims he is being targeted by the country's powerful security establishment.
Corruption is widely entrenched in Pakistan, with politicians regularly accused of misusing or stealing public funds and whisking the money out of the country.
Khan's new government, which took power in 2018, has launched a high-profile and controversial anti-corruption drive.
Fears for ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif as health deteriorates
Fears for ex-Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif as health deteriorates
- The 69-year-old was taken to hospital on Tuesday when his blood platelet count dropped to dangerous levels
- Nawaz Sharif has previously suffered heart problems and has diabetes
More than 1,000 councilors in UK sign Palestine pledge
- Issue could prove decisive in local elections set for May, campaigners say
- Campaign pledges councilors to ‘uphold inalienable rights of the Palestinian people’
LONDON: More than 1,000 local councilors in the UK have signed a pledge of solidarity with Palestine, in what could prove to be a crucial issue in upcoming elections, Sky News reported on Saturday.
Many Labour-run councils face the prospect of losing power in the local elections, set for May.
The issue of Palestine could play a decisive role in key sections of the electorate, campaigners have said.
The document, launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and signed by 1,028 councilors so far, pledges signatories to “uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people” and prevent councils’ complicity in “Israel’s violations of international law,” including by divesting from pension funds invested in arms companies.
Zoe Garbett, a Hackney Green councilor who signed the pledge, told Sky News: “I think that this is really important to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people and to make sure that we can make ethical investments. They want to see their council representing them on a national level.”
She added: “We know that most people really want to see an end to the genocide in Gaza, and an end to wars and conflicts all across the world, and they want to see their local representatives standing up for them.”
Of the signatories to the pledge, 245 councilors are from the Green Party, 338 from Labour, 104 Liberal Democrats, 38 from the Scottish National Party, 17 from Plaid Cymru, 12 from Your Party, three Conservatives and many independents.
Labour has faced significant pressure from its traditional voter base over the issue of Gaza, especially after Prime Minister Keir Starmer appeared reluctant to call for a ceasefire.
Key London borough councils, dominated by Labour, have seen councilors sign up en masse to the pledge.
In Islington, a Labour stronghold, 59 percent of councilors signed the pledge, while 49 percent signed in Tower Hamlets.
Similar trends have taken place in Sheffield — where no party has overall council control — and Bradford.
Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, said: “I think that so many Labour councilors have been so keen to sign the Palestine pledge as councilors because it puts on record that support for Palestine and distinguishes them from the position taken by the leader of the Labour Party.”
Alongside PSC, Britain’s most significant pro-Palestine group, the pledge is also supported by the Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, The Muslim Vote and the British Palestinian Committee.
PSC political organizer Dan Iley-Williamson said local councils in the UK “administer pension funds that invest more than £12 billion ($16 billion)” in weapons firms linked to Israel.
“The mass movement for Palestine — which has brought millions onto Britain’s streets — is not going away,” he added.
