Pak Senate Chairman Sanjrani asks govt to allow Nawaz Sharif to travel abroad for medical treatment

Pakistan's Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani on Thursday asked the government to allow former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to go abroad for medical treatment without any conditions, as well as provide all facilities to him concerning his health.

In his remarks at the Upper House, Sanjrani urged not to politicise the matter pertaining to Sharif's health, Dawn reported.

The matter was raised at the Upper House by Senator Javed Abbasi, who, in his statement, deemed the government's condition of submitting a surety bond of over PKR 7 billion for Sharif's name to be struck off the Exit Control List (ECL) as 'unconstitutional'.

He noted that Sharif was the only person who held the office of the Prime Minister thrice and that the Punjab Government's medical board had recommended that he be sent abroad for medical treatment in view of the serious threat to his life.

Pakistan government has said that Sharif will be given "one-time" permission to travel aboard for his medical treatment for a period of four weeks. This permission will be subject to the Sharif family submitting an indemnity bond "to the tune of PKR 7-7.5 billion".

Sharif is required to travel to London for treatment after his health deteriorated in the Kot Lakhpat jail where he was serving a seven-year jail term in a corruption case.

He was rushed to hospital from the prison last month after his personal physician Adnan raised an alarm over his deteriorating health. Doctors have been struggling to bring his platelet count -- that had dropped to dangerous levels -- back to normal.

Sharif was expected to leave Pakistan on Sunday. However, his ticket was cancelled as the authorities did not remove his name from the Exit Control List.