Hashmi suffers stroke but out of danger

LAHORE: Makhdoom Javed Hashmi , a veteran politician allied to the Pakistan Muslim  League-Nawaz (PML-N) who suffered a stroke on Tuesday morning, is out of danger but has been forbidden from speaking just yet, doctors said here.

Hashmi, 62, suffered the stroke at his home in Multan and was rushed to Nishtar Hospital’s emergency ward where doctors conducted his CT scan.  The ailing politician was later flown to Lahore on Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s private plane and brought to Lahore General Hospital (LGH) in the evening for treatment.Hashmi was admitted to the intensive care unit of the LGH where he is being monitored by a five-member team of doctors, headed by LGH Principal Dr Tariq Salahuddin. He told The Express Tribune that Hashmi had suffered a stroke due to high-blood pressure, which had affected the right side of his brain. Hashmi, who is diabetic, has never suffered from this condition before.

Dr Salahuddin said that the stroke had been controlled because he was brought to the hospital within 24 hours of the stroke. He ruled out the need for an operation and said that he would recover through medicines but added that the next 72 hours were critical for Hashmi.  Senator Rasheed, who spoke to reporters outside the hospital, confirmed that Hashmi’s condition was stable. “He recognised all of us but doctors have told him not to speak so he is only communicating through gestures,” he said. Sources said that the stroke had paralysed the left side of his body.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has appealed to the nation to pray for Hashmi’s early recovery.

The hospital, located on Lahore’s busy Ferozepur Road, remained been under tight security since an hour before Hashmi’s arrival. The emergency ward was closed and attendants of patients were told to stay out. Those with minor injuries had to be cared for in other wards and ambulances belonging to the government and Rescue 1122 were directed to take patients to Ganga Ram Hospital, Mayo Hospital and Services Hospital.

Hashmi’s daughter Aamna Hashmi told The Express Tribune that as per his routine, her father prayed at 5 am and left for his morning walk. It was then that he fell down in the lawn and was taken to the hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2010.