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Jailed Pakistani Ex-PM Sharif To Be Transferred To Hospital Because Of Heart Problem


Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (file photo)
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (file photo)

Pakistani officials say jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should be hospitalized because of heart trouble.

A cardiogram Sharif received after complaining of chest pain while in prison in the city of Rawalpindi shows that the 68-year-old needs hospitalization, Shaukat Javed, the home minister of Punjab province said on July 29.

Javed did not give further details, but Reuters quoted Hasan Askari Rizvi, another Punjab official, as saying an ECG, or electrocardiogram, testing electrical activity in the heart, showed issues making it necessary to "immediately" transfer Sharif.

The former leader and his daughter Maryam were arrested on July 13 upon their return to Pakistan from London.

They had been sentenced to 10- and seven-year terms in prison respectively by a court a week earlier over the purchase of luxury apartments in London in the 1990s.

Sharif, who served as prime minister for three non-consecutive terms, had returned to his homeland to help jumpstart his flagging Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party ahead of a July 25 general election.

Former cricket star Imran Khan has declared victory for his Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party in the vote, which was marred by long delays in vote-tallying and allegations of rigging by rivals.

While the PTI failed to win a majority, party officials said on July 28 that they have enough support from other lawmakers to form a coalition government.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

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