PM undergoes successful open heart surgery

According to Maryam Nawaz, prime minister expected to return to Pakistan within three weeks

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who underwent a successful open heart surgery in a London hospital on Tuesday, is expected to return to the country in three weeks, according to his family.

“The operation has been completed successfully and the prime minister is recovering fast in the intensive care unit (ICU),” Punjab Chief Minister and Nawaz’s younger brother Shahbaz Sharif told journalists outside the hospital. “We are thankful to Allah Almighty.”



Doctors operated on Nawaz for four and a half hours Tuesday morning, grafting four blood vessels. The details were revealed by Maryam Nawaz who tweeted information on various stages of the surgery that she received from her family members at the hospital since access for media was restricted.

“We were expecting that two to three vessels would be grafted,” she said, suggesting the operation did not go as smoothly as anticipated.

After the surgery, Maryam said Nawaz was moved to the ICU in a stable condition where he regained consciousness some six hours later and met with his wife and sons. Nawaz had been feeling early symptoms of heart trouble for the past three to four months, Maryam said. But after experiencing some discomfort in his legs, he opted for a check-up.



He travelled to London in mid-April and underwent various tests during a week-long stay.  An angiogram revealed that some of his arteries were blocked, which required surgery. But the premier delayed the operation and returned to Pakistan. For the next month, he continued his daily activities, attending various rallies and events in the country.

“The PM wanted to delay the operation for at least two years,” Maryam said.

PM to return after three weeks

While the prime minister is recovering fast, it will be some time before he can return to the country. Shahbaz told media that while he hoped Nawaz would return home soon, it would be dictated by the doctors.

However, Maryam said that it will take at least three weeks before the prime minister can return home. “Prime Minister will be back by the end of Ramazan,” she said.

Maryam said her father was a bold man and leader and had faced many ups and downs in his life with courage, adding those who thought that they could get anything done of their choice by bringing him under pressure were mistaken.

To another question, Maryam said that Nawaz Sharif was his father as well as his leader. “Before the operation, I talked to him and he was in high spirits,” she added.



While responding to a query, she said political opponents of her father were hatching conspiracies as they were afraid of PML-N’s development agenda, which would bring in a major change in the lives of people and eliminate load-shedding by 2018.

Maryam described as a ‘good omen’ the wishes and prayers extended by leaders from across the political divide, including PTI Chairman Imran Khan. “When it comes to the health or life issue of anyone, politics takes the back seat,” she said.

Shahbaz and Maryam both thanked the nation for their prayers for the primer.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2016.