LAHORE, February 25: Punjab Cabinet has rejected the application of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for extension in bail on medical grounds.
Briefing the media persons in Lahore on Tuesday, the provincial law minister Raja Basharat said the extension in bail period cannot be granted on medical and legal grounds. He said the recommendation of the Punjab cabinet will be forwarded to the federal cabinet.
The Minister said since his departure for medical treatment, during the last 16 weeks, Nawaz Sharif did not admitted to any hospital of London. He said medical board held several meetings and examined the medical reports of Nawaz Sharif which were provided before departure.
“He has not been admitted to any hospital since he went to London for treatment. We have repeatedly asked his physician Dr Adnan Khan about the cardiac procedure. Dr Adnan failed to give any particular date and said we have lined up this in the next couple of weeks,” Basharat said.
He said after rejection of extension, the bail granted to the former Prime Minister will ultimately be cancelled. “The Islamabad High Court had given eight weeks to Nawaz. In the last 16 weeks we have not received any new reports from London,” he added.
The Punjab law minister continued that a special board was constituted by the chief minister which kept requesting for new reports to be sent. “No new reports were sent to despite multiple requests,” Basharat said, adding that some reports were received which were not satisfactory.
“After seven to eight observations, the board asked for new reports, however, the response we received from them was that the reports that had already been sent were conclusive and a decision should be taken on them,” he noted.
“Since no new reports were sent, the Punjab cabinet reached a decision on them and decided not to extend the bail,” Basharat said.
He added, “Rana Sanaullah came on the media a few days ago and said Nawaz would undergo a cardiac procedure on February 24, however, when we asked Dr Adnan, he refused to share a specific date and said the operation would be lined up in the next two to three weeks.”
As you can see no cardiac surgery has been done, he noted. The law minister further said in light of the reports they had, the Punjab government took the decision to not extend the bail.
“We will now write to the federal government about the Punjab government’s decision. The federal government will decide on further course of action.” He said that the IHC had directed Nawaz Sharif to seek the Punjab government’s permission for further relief if required.
Nothing specific was shared with the government regarding Nawaz Sharif’s health, he added. He said the Punjab cabinet has made the decision as there was no legal, moral or medical basis without any concrete proof for further extension of his bail. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Health, Dr. Yasmeen Rashid said the issue of the extension in the bail of Nawaz Sharif will decided by the court. She said that Nawaz Sharif failed to produce any medical report to justify his request for extension in bail.-DNA
