Staff Reporter
Islamabad
PML-N leader Khawaja Asif on Thursday accused the government of “playing with Nawaz Sharif’s life” and insisted that the former prime minister be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment.
The former minister criticised the government for demanding indemnity bonds worth Rs7 billion, saying, “This Rs7 billion’s surety bond has no monetary value but, against the backdrop of Pakistan’s [political scene], it is a deadly thing. It will muddy politics in Pakistan.”
“We, his workers, are guarantors of his return,” Asif declared. “Pakistan’s public will bring him back, God will bring him back, his three terms as prime minister, that are his legacy, will bring him back.”
“A man who has everything in Pakistan, his politics is in Pakistan — politics is the most valuable property for politicians — his political career spanning 35-40 years, his voters are in Pakistan.
“He does not want to leave Pakistan. His doctors told him in front of me, that we (the doctors) have done as much as we can and while we have the capability to treat you, we do not have the technology or the wherewithal,” Asif told the parliament and added that a government doctor had recommended Nawaz to go to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where all his ailments can be treated.
PTI lawmaker Murad Saeed, however, questioned the ‘special treatment’ for the former prime minister, saying it was unfortunate that the PML-N could not improve health care enough that Nawaz could have been treated here. “A child dies in his mother’s arms after a dog bite — that’s the state of medical facilities in Pakistan […] while the former premier is being asked to be sent abroad,” he said.
