Islamabad: An accountability court on Wednesday turned down a request by the former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz seeking a one-hour meeting with her father, who is recovering from a drastic fall in platelets count at the Services Hospital in Lahore.
Sharif was rushed to the hospital a day earlier, in fact Monday night, after his personal physician Dr Adnan Khan in a letter cautioned the Kot Lakhpat jail administration and the Punjab government that his platelets count had “dropped from 16,000 to a critical level of 2,000” prompting the medical board members to go for immediate transfusion to save his life.
According to the latest information, after the blood transfusion, his platelets count was around 29,000 and his health was in a stable condition.
Maryam Nawaz, who is in custody of the country’s premiere anti-graft watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau in the Chaudhry Sugar Mills case, was produced before the Accountability Court by NAB officials upon expiry of her remand.
During proceedings of the case, Maryam sought the court’s one-hour permission to see her father at the hospital, butthe court turned down her plea.
The court also asked the NAB’s investigating officer when he was going to file a case against the accused. He replied that it would be filed very soon as the reference preparation was in the final stage.
The NAB prosecutor further submitted that before filing of the reference an approval would be taken from the NAB chairman.
Later the accountability court judge Chaudhary Ameer Mohammad Khan granted two days extension in Maryam’s remand and directed the NAB to produce her again on Friday. Maryam’s cousin Yousuf Abbas is also facing corruption charges in the Chaudhary Sugar Mills case.
Meanwhile, former President Asif Ali Zardari has also been admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and was shifted to the hospital from Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi on the same day when Sharif was shifted to hospital.
According to the PIMS spokesperson, Dr Waseem Khawaja, the former president was admitted to the cardiology ward and a team of doctors are constantly monitoring his health.
“A number of tests, including ECG and blood tests, were conducted and the patient is out of danger but some more tests will be held and Mr Zardari can be retained in the hospital for a few days,” he said.
