Nawaz, Maryam delay return after meeting Begum Kulsoom's doctors
Sources said former PM, daughter will submit exemption from appearance request in accountability court where they were due to appear on June 19
June 17, 2018
LONDON: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam have, for the time being, delayed their return to Pakistan owing to the prevailing illness of Kulsoom Nawaz.
Sources said the former premier, who reached London along with his daughter on Thursday to tend to his ailing wife, was advised by doctors to delay his return to the country — which was initially planned for today.
According to sources, the counsels for Nawaz and Maryam will submit an exemption from appearance request in the accountability court of Islamabad hearing corruption cases against them.
The former premier and his family are facing three corruption references filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) following his disqualification in July last year.
Sources said the counsels for the accused will submit Kulsoom’s medical report and the doctor’s letter with the exemption request.
The medical report, as per sources, states that doctors have decided to keep Kulsoom Nawaz on the life support machine.
The decision followed a two-hour meeting of Nawaz, Maryam and Nawaz’s son Hussain with doctors at the Harley Street Clinic where Begum Kulsoom is admitted.
Doctors reportedly informed the Sharif family that Kulsoom’s condition is still unstable and a timeframe cannot be given at the time.
Sources said doctors have advised Nawaz to spend time with his wife.
Praying to God for Kulsoom's recovery: Nawaz
Talking to the media while leaving the clinic, Nawaz said Kulsoom is still unconscious and on the ventilator.
He said he is praying to God that she recovers soon.
Moreover, Nawaz’s brother and Pakistan Muslim League-N president Shehbaz Sharif also visited Kulsoom Nawaz today.
Shehbaz told the media that doctors are constantly monitoring Begum Kulsoom, adding that Nawaz and Maryam should remain in London for now.
Begum Kulsoom was shifted to the ICU late Thursday after a cardiac arrest, where she is on life support since June 14. The former premier and his daughter had reached London the same day.
On June 7, Nawaz and Maryam had sought a five-day exemption from appearance before accountability in the corruption references against the Sharif family.
The former prime minister and his family members are facing three corruption references in the accountability court — Avenfield Properties, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investments — in which they are accused of money laundering, tax evasion and hiding offshore assets.
Nawaz and Maryam filed petitions seeking exemption from June 11 to June 15. The petition stated that both of them want to travel to London to meet the ailing wife of Nawaz, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz. The new medical report of Kulsoom Nawaz was also attached with the petition.
On Sunday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar had allowed Nawaz along with his daughter to visit his ailing wife Begum Kulsoom Nawaz in London.
Begum Kulsoom was admitted to hospital in London in August last year after doctors discovered she was suffering from throat cancer.
She has been undergoing treatment since.
