‘Chest pain’ is still a problem for Nawaz

The Lahore High Court (LHC) received the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s medical report on Friday, which revealed that the former premier continues to have “residual chest pain.”

The three-time former premier, who is currently serving a seven-year term on medical grounds, is due to return to Pakistan on October 21, nearly four years after leaving for London in 2019. Shehbaz Sharif, his brother and the last prime minister, had pledged in court to regularly provide medical reports.

Nawaz, however, has since remained in self-imposed exile in London and has not traveled back to Pakistan.

Nawaz would require numerous follow-up visits to medical professionals to check his condition, according to the medical report submitted today.

Amjad Pervez, a lawyer for the PML-N, delivered the report to the Registrar’s office. It was created by a British doctor and distributed by the largest heart and lung specialty hospital in the UK, the Royal Brompton Hospital.

The party has denied rumors that its leader would postpone his intended departure for Pakistan on October 21, despite reports that a faction within the organization that advocated for peace had counseled him against the move.

The leader of the PML-N, however, held off on making a quick comment.

The sources went on to say that the party’s reconciliatory committee thought that the public was uninterested in the PML-N supremo’s return to the nation because they were concerned about the rising inflation, unemployment, and exorbitant utility bills at the time.

Shehbaz Sharif, the PML-N president and younger brother of Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz, the party’s senior vice president, and Hamza Shehbaz, the nephew of Nawaz and a former chief minister of Punjab, launched a public relations campaign in Lahore and gauged popular sentiment.

The panel concluded that it would be foolish to anticipate Nawaz receiving a respectful welcome from the populace given the current circumstances.

The date of the general elections has not yet been announced, according to party sources. They continued by saying it would be preferable if Nawaz came home soon before the general elections or after the date was made public.

According to the sources, Nawaz was informed of these facts during a meeting with PML-N stalwart Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in London, but the latter had already decided to return home and urged the group to be ready for his welcome.

A different faction of the PML-N disagreed, arguing that Nawaz should stick to his plan to return to Pakistan because if he delayed it, the party would suffer in the eyes of the general public.

Nawaz’s return to Pakistan on October 21 was final, according to PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, and the plan had not changed.