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Nawaz Sharif: Ex-PM leaves Pakistan for medical treatment | Nawaz Sharif: Ex-PM leaves Pakistan for medical treatment |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is serving a prison sentence for corruption, has left the country to receive medical treatment in London. | |
Sharif, a three-time prime minister, has an immune system disorder and other health problems. | Sharif, a three-time prime minister, has an immune system disorder and other health problems. |
The Lahore High Court lifted a travel ban on Saturday and the government rubber-stamped the decision on Monday. | The Lahore High Court lifted a travel ban on Saturday and the government rubber-stamped the decision on Monday. |
Imran Khan's government had been reluctant to release Sharif. | Imran Khan's government had been reluctant to release Sharif. |
It wanted the politician - who has so far served less than 12 months of a seven year prison sentence - to sign an indemnity bond worth $44m (£34m) before allowing him to go abroad. | |
However, the court allowed him to travel without signing the bond. | |
How ill is Nawaz Sharif? | How ill is Nawaz Sharif? |
Sharif's health and the travel ban have dominated news in Pakistan for nearly a month. | |
Last month, his blood platelet count dropped to a critical 16,000, compared to around a 150,000 for a healthy person, a doctor told BBC Urdu's Umar Nangiana in Lahore. | |
The 69-year-old is also on drugs for a cardiac problem, and suffers from diabetes and kidney issues. | |
Both official and private medical boards have recommended he is treated abroad, as Pakistan does not have adequate facilities. | Both official and private medical boards have recommended he is treated abroad, as Pakistan does not have adequate facilities. |
Sharif will travel via Doha in a "high-end air ambulance" with a fully-staffed intensive care unit and operating theatre, his personal doctor said. | Sharif will travel via Doha in a "high-end air ambulance" with a fully-staffed intensive care unit and operating theatre, his personal doctor said. |
Why is he serving a jail sentence? | Why is he serving a jail sentence? |
Sharif was prime minister from 1990 to 1993, then again from 1997 to 1999, and finally from 2013 to 2017. He is also one of the country's richest industrialists. | |
In 2018 - following the Panama Papers leak - he was found guilty of corruption, relating to his family's ownership of upmarket London apartments. | In 2018 - following the Panama Papers leak - he was found guilty of corruption, relating to his family's ownership of upmarket London apartments. |
He was given a 10-year prison sentence, but was released two months later when the court suspended the sentences, pending a final judgement. | He was given a 10-year prison sentence, but was released two months later when the court suspended the sentences, pending a final judgement. |
But in December 2018 he was jailed for corruption again, this time for seven years, in relation to his family's ownership of steel mills in Saudi Arabia. | But in December 2018 he was jailed for corruption again, this time for seven years, in relation to his family's ownership of steel mills in Saudi Arabia. |
He denies wrongdoing and accuses the military of conspiring to end his political career. | He denies wrongdoing and accuses the military of conspiring to end his political career. |
When will he come back? | When will he come back? |
Sharif has agreed to return within four weeks, or when doctors say he is fit to return. | |
His brother Shahbaz - who is travelling with Sharif - signed a court document that said: "If at any stage, the federal government has credible information that Nawaz Sharif is living abroad despite his fitness to travel, a representative from Pakistan's High Commission would have a right to meet with his physician(s) to verify or confirm about his health." | His brother Shahbaz - who is travelling with Sharif - signed a court document that said: "If at any stage, the federal government has credible information that Nawaz Sharif is living abroad despite his fitness to travel, a representative from Pakistan's High Commission would have a right to meet with his physician(s) to verify or confirm about his health." |