Medical board sends back Nawaz Sharif's medical reports, calls them 'incomplete'

A medical board constituted by Pakistan's Punjab government has sent back the medical reports of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Home Department with the objection that they are unacceptable and 'incomplete'.

The medical reports had been submitted by Sharif's physician on January 31 after being asked the same by the Punjab government to decide on his application seeking an extension of his stay abroad for medical treatment.

The board -- which had been constituted to assess the health of Sharif -- informed the Punjab government that a meeting had been held to examine the medical reports but it failed to arrive at a meaningful conclusion as the reports were incomplete, Geo News reported.

The board's chair said that several medical reports, including cardiac function test, genetic testing, bone marrow tests, PET scan, and platelets were missing from the documents sent by Sharif's family.

In a letter written by the provincial Home Department, dated January 28, Sharif has been asked to submit the requisite reports, failing to which the concerned authorities would decide on his application, seeking an extension of his stay abroad, on the basis of existing records.

Sharif had gone to London in November 2019 after the government gave him one-time permission to travel abroad for medical treatment during his bail period of four weeks without the condition of submitting indemnity bonds.

Later in December, last year, the former Prime Minister had sought an extension to his stay abroad on the expiry of the four-week period granted by the Lahore High Court.