Sharjeel Memon not allowed to visit public hospitals

He wants to have video ECG monitoring, an ETT, colonoscopy, ECHO and MRI done

KARACHI: Despite facing multiple health complications, former information minister and Pakistan Peoples Party MPA Sharjeel Inam Memon is not being allowed to avail treatment at a hospital.

He is currently in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody and is being imprisoned at the Central Jail, Karachi. According to the jail’s senior medical superintendent, Memon was sent to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on November 18 for a checkup, as advised by the prison’s medical board, but has now returned to jail on court orders.

“Memon has been advised by different consultants to carry out further investigations such as video ECG monitoring, an ETT, colonoscopy, ECHO and MRI, but most of these medical facilities are not available at the prison hospital. Due to non-availability of the above mentioned facilities at the prison, his health and safety cannot be assured,” wrote the jail’s medical officer in a letter to the superintendent.



According to medical reports, Dr S Raza Hasan Rivi has advised Memon to undergo neurosurgery if there is no improvement after soft collar physiotherapy and medication. However, the orthopedic surgeon has advised him to attempt physiotherapy and Dr Qurban, a physician, has observed liver enzymes, and prescribed Memon medicine. According to Memon, the opinion of a general surgeon and ENT surgeon is also awaited.

The former minister has already undergone various treatments in Dubai and London. He returned to Pakistan in March and was arrested at the Islamabad Airport. After being briefly detained, Memon was released because had already obtained interim bail. The Sindh High Court, however, ordered NAB to arrest him on October 23 after cancelling his bail in corruption cases. Since then, he has been in the custody of NAB.