Nawaz Sharif remains critical, platelets drop again: Personal physician

Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif's health condition remains critical as his platelet count has dropped again, a day after it rose to 51,000, his personal physician said on Saturday. Sharif, 69, was admitted to the Services Hospital on Monday night from Pakistan's anti-graft body's custody after his platelets dropped to a critical low level of 2,000.

On Thursday, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo's platelets increased from 35,000 to 51,000, showing improvement in his condition.

"Former PM Nawaz Sharif remains critical. The treating doctors tried to reduce the Steroids dose being given to him but unfortunately resulted in drop in Platelet count again yesterday," said Adnan Khan.

The doctor said the cause behind the drop in platelets needs to be diagnosed and established without delay, Geo News reported.

"A very delicate balance has to be maintained between coagulation and anti-coagulation to sustain fragile unstable health status," Khan said.

On Tuesday, the doctor had tweeted saying that the former prime minister's health was in a critical condition and he was fighting a battle for survival. The Islamabad High Court on Tuesday suspended Sharif's sentence for eight weeks in a corruption case, paving way for his release on medical grounds.

He had already secured bail from the Lahore High Court in the money laundering case linked to the Chaudhry Sugar Mills. Regarding shifting Sharif to London for better treatment, PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal told PTI on Wednesday that the first and foremost effort of doctors is to stabilise his condition.

"Once his condition is stabilised, the question of his going abroad will arise and be decided," Iqbal said.

Another PML-N leader and former foreign minister Khwaja Asif said Sharif will decide on his own whether he wants to be treated abroad or not, the report said.

On December 24, 2018, an accountability court had sentenced Sharif to seven years in prison in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case and acquitted him in the Flagship case.

In a short verdict announced, the court said there was concrete evidence against the former premier in the Al-Azizia case and that he was unable to provide a money trail in the case.