Daily Times

Doctors have told Hamza Shehbaz Sharif that his newborn daughter has been diagnosed with a serious cardiac issue and must undergo a life-saving surgery. The baby girl is admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a private hospital in London.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly arrived in London on February 3 after the Lahore High Court gave him one-time permission to leave the country for a period of 10 days – till February 13.

According to media reports, the doctors had told the parents that their baby will stay in the ICU until a bypass surgery is performed on her. The baby will further require post operation care. Doctors are hoping for the best to save the child’s life. The doctors were only able to pinpoint the extent and seriousness of the baby’s medical problem after her birth. That is when the doctors termed her condition “complicated and serious”.

Hamza Shehbaz was unable to leave for London to be with his wife on Nov 27, 2018 as he was barred from boarding the plane. Authorities had informed him that his name was on the no fly list on the advice of National Accountability Bureau. Hamza had pleaded that placing him on the Exit Control List (ECL) breached his right to travel and free movement was guaranteed under the Constitution. Hamza was, however, able to reach London two days before his baby girl was born.

Hamza has been reportedly spending most of his time in London visiting his wife and newborn baby in the hospital.

Published in Daily Times, February 11^th 2019.