ISLAMABAD – The doctor who was treating Pakistan’s former prime minister at a hospital in the federal capital has been admitted in the same ward following a cardiac arrest on Sunday night.
Jailed ex-PM Nawaz Sharif was admitted to the country’s top hospital on Sunday after his health deteriorated due to heart trouble in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
Hours later, Dr Ejaz Qadeer suffered a heart attack and was hospitalised at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), in Islamabad.
Hospital sources say he is a heart patient and has undergone heart surgery before.
Dr Ejaz Qadeer was leading a team of doctors comprising cardiologist Dr Naeem Malik, Medical Specialist Dr Shaji Siddiqui, neurologist Dr Sohail Tanvir and Dr Mashood, who carried out medical checkup of Sharif after he complained of chest pain.
The condition of Sharif, 68, is said to be stable, according to hospital official. The three-time Pakistan premier 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 13 July.
The decision to shift Sharif to PIMS in Islamabad was taken by the Punjab government which has administrative control of the Adiala jail after a team of doctors recommended that Sharif needed proper medication and care as he has been suffering from acute pain in both his arms, likely due to lack of adequate blood circulation.
Doctors had advised Sharif’s transfer to hospital after an electrocardiogram had shown “variations”, Punjab home minister Shaukat Javed was quoted as saying by the state-run PTV.
Doctors conducted a check-up of Sharif after he complained of chest pain and advised that he immediately be shifted to a coronary care unit (CCU) of the PIMS in Islamabad. Last week, it was reported that Sharif is on the verge of having a kidney failure. Doctors recommended shifting him to a hospital immediately.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo has diabetes and underwent bypass surgery in 2016. He currently takes medication for his heart condition, cholesterol and diabetes.
Last week, PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif wrote a letter to caretaker Punjab government seeking better facilities for him at Adiala Jail.