Tag: British government

  • Nawaz still very ill, new medical reports submitted to court

    Nawaz still very ill, new medical reports submitted to court

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s new medical reports have been submitted to the Lahore High Court (LHC) after the British authorities turned down his request for an extension in his stay, pleading that he cannot return as doctors have not yet allowed him air travel, reports Dawn.

    Since November 2019, this is Nawaz’s 11th medical report submitted to the LHC.  In all medical reports, a similar plea had been taken that ‘doctors have stopped him (Nawaz) from air travel’.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Shehbaz Sharif has already said that Nawaz Sharif will not return until his complete recovery and stated that he can legally stay in the UK till the British immigration tribunal makes a final decision.

    Nawaz’s consultant, cardiothoracic surgeon David Lawrence, in Nawaz’s medical report wrote, “Nawaz Sharif, undoubtedly, has complex and complicated medical issues which need to be treated holistically. Great care needs to be exercised in dealing with each of the diseases and comorbidities he is suffering in order to maintain the right balance.”

    “There is also the appearance of the transient ischemic dilatation suggesting significant ischemic burden that amounts approximately 22 per cent of the myocardium. This is indicative of significantly reduced blood supply to the heart in the circumflex territory and impaired functionality. Mr Nawaz is advised cardiac catheterisation and subsequent management given the significant risk of worsening of his heart disease but once his comorbidities (ITP, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease) were stabilised by a multidisciplinary approach,” said the doctor.

    “He developed Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) during his incarceration and his response to the first and second-line therapies was unsatisfactory, a stable platelet count within the medically prescribed range was paramount to ensure the safety of diagnostics and treatment. In addition to the recent finding of him having developed carotid artery’s stenosis, he was assessed to have had an exacerbation of his coronary artery disease and deterioration of renal functions. The intention was indeed to proceed with the management of his cardiac and carotid diseases once he was given clearance from hematology and nephrology specialties,” says the medical report.

    “He should, by all means, avoid travelling and visiting public places like airports. He should only stay in close proximity to the healthcare facilities where he has been getting his treatment until the Covid-19 threat is over and his health problems are adequately addressed,” Lawrence said.

    “Mr Nawaz needs to take serious precautions being a clinically extremely vulnerable person,” added the report.

  • British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    British authorities turn down Nawaz Sharif’s request for extension of visit visa

    Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Supremo, Nawaz Sharif’s request for an extension in his visit visa has been turned down by British authorities, reported Geo News.

    Nawaz’s six-month visit visa has expired, after which he had put in a request with the United Kingdom (UK) Home Office to grant him an extension on health grounds.

    The request, however, was denied by the immigration department.

    PML-N leader has two ways to go about this recent development in relevance to his stay: to appeal the decision with the department, and in the event, it is turned down, he can approach British courts.

    Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said, “Nawaz cannot travel anywhere with his expired Pakistani passport.”

    Rasheed further added that Nawaz’s visa had expired on February 16 and that he is “no longer a citizen of Pakistan”.

    PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb took to Twitter and tweeted that the British home department in their response has stated that Nawaz can appeal the decision with an immigration tribunal.

    She said Nawaz’s lawyers had therefore filed an appeal with the tribunal, his medical records will be included in it as well.

    “Nawaz Sharif can legally reside in Britain until the decision,” she said.

    The PML-N spokesperson while talking to Geo News said that Nawaz “has not and will never seek political asylum”.

    “These people [government] have nothing better than to do than to speak lies about Nawaz Sharif every day,” she said.

  • Adnan Siddiqui, Christian Turner pledge to promote cultural ties

    Adnan Siddiqui and British High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner have pledged to promote cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

    Sharing pictures of their meeting, Siddiqui said: “In these times of global inclusivity, the world is an oyster in every sense of the word. I firmly believe that cross-cultural exchange across all fields will shape the new order of diplomacy.”

    He said the two have pledged to further Pakistan-England ties through “education, entertainment, and cricket.”

    The actor also thanked the British High Commissioner for his time, writing: “May our friendship grow personally and diplomatically.”

    Responding to Siddiqui’s post, Dr Turner said: “The pleasure was mine.”

    “Great to hear about Mere Pass Tum Ho and discuss UK-Pakistan dosti,” he added.

    Later, Dr Turner shared another picture with Siddiqui and The Legend of Maula Jutt producer Ammara Hikmat and wrote: “Pakistan’s TV and films attract a big following in the UK, working to boost the industry”, hinting towards future cross-cultural collaborations between the two countries.

    Recently, Humayun Saeed announced that he and Siddiqui are working on a project in collaboration with Turkish artists.

  • ‘Vijay Mallya sent back’: Fawad’s blunder on Nawaz’s extradition called out on air

    ‘Vijay Mallya sent back’: Fawad’s blunder on Nawaz’s extradition called out on air

    A blunder by Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry was called out by the host of the show he had appeared on to talk about the extradition of deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who was last year allowed by the government to travel abroad to seek medical treatment despite his conviction in corruption cases.

    As per the details, Fawad, who was speaking to journalist Shahzad Iqbal during the latter’s show on Geo News, was asked if the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was hopeful that its efforts to get Nawaz extradited would bear fruit.

    “India is a prominent power with influence and you agree. But we have the example of Indian businessman Vijay Mallya who is accused of corruption worth Rs90 billion and has been convicted in the contempt case against him. They [Indian authorities] have time and again been requesting the British authorities to extradite Vijay Mallya but to no avail,” Iqbal said.

    Indian businessman and former lawmaker Mallya is the subject of an extradition effort by New Delhi to bring him back from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. Mallya is a former owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket team. He is also one of the four prominent business magnates of India on the lives of which the 2020 Netflix original documentary web-series “Bad Boy Billionaires” focuses.

    Citing another example, the journalist spoke of former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who too was allowed to seek treatment abroad despite his conviction in a grenade attack case from 2004 on top of financial crimes accusations, and was never sent back by the UK regardless of Bangladeshi authorities’ requests.

    “You are absolutely right but Vijay Mallya was recently extradited. What you are saying is right and that was why I was against permitting Nawaz to travel abroad,” Fawad said in response to Iqbal who appeared shocked over the minister’s ill-informed claim regarding the Indian businessman’s extradition.

    “I haven’t read anything about Vijay Mallya’s extradition. The case is in the Supreme Court. Who told you this?” the journalist asked.

    Attempting to brush it off, Fawad said he had read “something somewhere” and thought Mallya had been extradited, and told the journalist to take a look, over which Iqbal requested the minister to share the source with him. “I will also read it because as far as I know, Vijay Mallya has not yet been extradited.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The minister’s err moment was followed by both Iqbal and Fawad telling each other to “Google it”.

    Here’s what The Current discovered when we Googled it:

    “The Indian government has been informed that there is a ‘confidential legal matter’ without whose resolution the extradition of embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya is not possible to India from Britain, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, adding that India is not a party to that matter. The MEA also said that Mallya’s avenues for appeal against extradition have already been exhausted and that India is in touch with Britain on the issue of his extradition to India,” reads an early October report by the Deccan Chronicle.

    The same has been reported by multiple Indian media organisations, including dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The Hindu.