Ishaq Dar admitted in hospital for ‘heart procedure’

LONDON: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has been admitted to a West London hospital and will be undergoing a heart procedure on Friday.

Geo.tv has learnt that Dar checked in to the hospital for treatment on Wednesday and underwent angiography on Thursday.

A hospital source said it is possible Dar will undergo an “angioplasty” to deal with his heart condition.

The source shared that Ishaq Dar has been to the clinic three times for “detailed checkups” in the last one week after arriving in London from Pakistan.

It is understood that Dar’s son Ali Dar and the rest of his family members are also in London.

Ali Dar’s wife Asma has been looking after her mother Begum Kulsoom Nawaz who is undergoing treatment for throat cancer at the Harley Street Clinic.

The hospital source confirmed that Ishaq Dar was advised by doctors to extend his stay in London and get treatment on priority basis.

Ishaq Dar’s lawyer had told the National Accountability (NAB) court that Ishaq Dar was in London for treatment of his heart problem and will undergo a medical checkup on Friday (today).

It is understood that Ishaq Dar spent the night at the hospital on Thursday and had checked in earlier in the afternoon.

The news of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar being out of Pakistan emerged this week when Ishaq Dar didn’t appear before the accountability court in the graft case of allegedly holding assets beyond knows sources of income filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). Dar’s lawyer had told the court that the minister is not able to "stand for more than four minutes" and requested exemption from appearing for his client.

The court ordered NAB to probe the authenticity of the medical report but the NAB prosecutor informed the court that the report was not from a government hospital rather from a private clinic and had not come through proper channel.

"The report should have come via the Foreign Office and received by the Pakistan High Commission," the NAB prosecutor told the court.

Meanwhile, the private hospital source expressed surprise when informed that the NAB prosecutor has challenged its credentials. She said that its reports are accepted universally, including before the UK courts. The hospital is part of the National Health Service (NHS), operating in compliance with regulations as set by the medical rules in England and Wales, she concluded.

A source in at Pakistan High Commission in London confirmed that the report was sent from London and was actually authenticated by Foreign office of UK and attested by the Pakistan High Commission.