Pakistani politicians are rather infamous for falling sick right after they are sentenced to imprisonment, taken into custody for investigation or even if summoned by a court.
While some think of the sudden ailment as “nothing but an easy way out of the ordeal that could follow”, several others believe otherwise.
Here are five politicians who fell prey to an untimely, or perhaps timely, sickness.
1. Pervez Musharraf
Soon after All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) chief and former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was charged with treason, he underwent chest and back pain. He was shifted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where he spent months and failed to appear before the court.
Even though Musharraf’s name was put on the Exit Control List (ECL), the Interior Ministry allowed him to leave the country for treatment back in 2016 and he hasn’t returned since.
2. Nawaz Sharif
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was advised to undergo a heart surgery soon after the emergence of Panama Papers in April 2016 amid calls for a probe into his offshore assets by the opposition.
Since the case started and his subsequent imprisonment last year, the ex-PM has time and again sought bail on medical grounds, even the permission to travel abroad for treatment, and has taken multiple trips to the hospital from jail.
3. Ishaq Dar
The former PML-N lawmaker tendered his resignation as the country’s finance minister after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) initiated an inquiry into his assets back in 2017.
Dar fell ill, with his counsel requesting an exemption from the court. He later traveled to the United Kingdom (UK) and hasn’t returned since. The politician’s medical reports say he is severely ill; however, he has been spotted walking upright on London streets time and again.
4. Asif Ali Zardari
The former president’s little visit to the hospital after he was taken into NAB custody last week, wasn’t the first of its kind. Earlier, he had used his medical reports to fight a corruption case filed against him in a British court.
Zardari had pleaded that he was diagnosed with a range of psychiatric illnesses during his detention in jail. He, however, went on to become the president of Pakistan in 2008.
The list doesn’t end here as several other political figures, including ex-petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain and ex-information minister Sharjeel Memon, have also sought medical attention in times of trouble.
The Current asked people about what they think of all these untimely ailments and here is what they had to say:
