Disgraced Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif flies to London for medical treatment after his jail-term for corruption is suspended
- Sharif, 69, flew to London today for medical treatment after a heart attack
- Former prime minister was granted permission to leave Pakistan for four weeks
- He was removed from office over corruption by the Supreme Court in July 2017
- Sharif was jailed for seven years earlier this year and had been in a Lahore prison
Disgraced former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif flew to London today for medical treatment.
The 69-year-old, who served three times as prime minister but fell from grace after being ousted him from office over corruption allegations, has had a history of health problems, including heart disease.
He left Lahore on a specially equipped air ambulance after a court granted him permission to leave for four weeks abroad for medical treatment.
His conviction was earlier suspended for eight weeks on medical grounds.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif leaves after appearing in a court in Lahore in October last year
Supporters of Sharif surround his vehicle and adorn it with petals at the airport in Lahore on Tuesday ahead of his flight to London
Local television stations broadcast footage of Sharif being helped by one of his brothers and another man to board the plane.
Sharif’s younger brother Shahbaz Sharif, who is the head of the Pakistan Muslim League opposition party, is accompanying him along with his doctor Adnan Khan.
Nawaz Sharif has always maintained his innocence and denied the corruption charges that prompted the country’s Supreme Court to remove him from office in July 2017.
He claims he has been politically victimised.
Elections that followed that year ushered in the government of Imran Khan, who has vowed to root out corruption.
Sharif was earlier this year sentenced to seven years in prison.
After his health deteriorated last month, he was rushed from his prison cell to a hospital in Lahore where he later suffered a minor heart attack.
Supporters of Sharif clamber aboard his car and throw petals over it as it heads to the airport in Lahore on Tuesday
Elections that followed Sharif (right) being removed from office in 2017 that year ushered in the government of Imran Khan (left) who has vowed to root out corruption
Mr Khan on Monday dismissed all speculation about a political deal to allow Sharif to leave and reaffirmed his intention to fight corruption.
He said Sharif’s brother had made a personal appeal and that he could not stand in the way of medical treatment for his ailing predecessor.
Sharif’s party has blamed Mr Khan’s government for imposing a heavy bail bond on the former premier, a sum that was later overturned by the authorities, allowing Sharif to leave.
His permit for four weeks abroad can be extended if he is not well enough to travel back.
During his tenure, Sharif had a bitter relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment and did not complete any of his three five-year terms as prime minister.
Sharif’s supporters pray outside his hospital in Lahore last month after he was rushed from his prison cell in the city
He entered politics as a protege of dictator General Zia ul-Haq, who seized power in a military coup in 1977 and appointed Sharif finance minister for the province of Punjab.
Sharif’s first stint as prime minister, from 1990 to 1993, ended when then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed him amid corruption allegations.
His second stint as premier, which began in 1997, was cut short when he was toppled in a military coup in 1999 and sent into exile by General Pervez Musharraf who grabbed power.
Gen Musharraf is currently living in exile in Dubai and a treason case is pending against him.
The case was filed by Sharif when he was in power, angering the army.