Sharif denied doctor as health worsens

Islamabad : Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is suffering from high blood pressure but has been refused permission to see his personal doctor, his party said yesterday. Sharif was convicted in his absence overseas on corruption charges and arrested upon his return to Pakistan earlier his month, ahead of elections on Wednesday. Members of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have said the powerful military is trying to influence the vote against his party.

The former premier is widely believed to have returned to face a 10-year prison sentence to rally his embattled party ahead of a close contest with its main rival -- the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan. “Caretaker Prime Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk and chief minister of Punjab province Hasan Askari were approached with a request to provide access to Sharif’s personal physician but all requests went down the drain,” PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb told AFP.

“Nawaz Sharif, who is also a heart patient, has been quite unwell since Saturday after his blood pressure went up,” Aurangzeb added. Officials at Adiala jail in Rawalpindi where Sharif is being held could not be reached for comment. Aurangzeb said Sharif needed a special diet due to the ongoing heart condition and should be provided with air conditioning, but was being denied both, adding his cell had “serious hygiene issues”.