ISLAMABAD – Pakistani leader Imran Khan said Thursday he was offering”sincere prayers” for his political rival Nawaz Sharif, after theex-premier’s deteriorating health saw him moved from prison to hospitalthis week.
Sharif, who served as prime minister three times before he was ousted in2017, has been serving time in a Lahore jail for corruption.
But the 69-year-old was taken to hospital on Tuesday when his bloodplatelet count dropped to dangerous levels, local media have reported.
“Political differences notwithstanding, my sincere prayers are with NawazSharif for his health,” Khan tweeted Thursday, adding that he had orderedthe “best possible health care and medical treatment” for him.
Sharif’s younger brother Shahbaz, who took over the leadership of hisPakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after he was jailed, tweeted hisconcerns earlier this week.
“I am gravely concerned and worried on his fast deteriorating healthcondition,” the younger Sharif wrote Tuesday.
Nawaz Sharif has previously suffered heart problems and has diabetes.
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“Several tests are being taken to diagnose the exact nature of the diseaseand 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 graftallegations in 2017, and he later received a seven-year jail sentence.
He denies all the corruption charges against him and claims he is beingtargeted by the country’s powerful security establishment.
Corruption is widely entrenched in Pakistan, with politicians regularlyaccused of misusing or stealing public funds and whisking the money out ofthe country.
Khan’s new government, which took power in 2018, has launched ahigh-profile and controversial anti-corruption drive. -APP/AFP
