KARACHI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and his wife have recently visited the ailing former president and army chief Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in Dubai.
According to media reports quoting sources close to the former military ruler’s family, “Gen Qamar and his wife were accompanied by top physicians of Pakistan Army.” “Gen Musharraf and his family greeted the COAS and his wife with great delight,” added the source, who was also present in the meeting.
According to the sources, the visitors spent some time with Gen Musharraf and his family at their apartment while the army doctors examined the 78-year-old former military ruler, who was diagnosed with the life-threatening health condition, called Amyloidosis, in 2018 in the UAE.
Amyloidosis is a group of rare, serious conditions that is caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein, called amyloid, in organs and tissues throughout the body, says the UK’s National Health Service. If left untreated, these protein deposits can lead to organ failure.
The family of Musharraf – who has been living in self-exile in Dubai since 2016 – has yet not made their mind to fly him back to Pakistan. Earlier this week, the family ruled out the possibility citing lack of proper treatment in Pakistan.
“An uninterrupted supply and administration of experimental drug Daratumumab needed alongside associated treatment of Amyloidosis that are currently not available in Pakistan,” the family wrote on Musharraf’s Twitter handle on June 21. “It’s not easy to take a call on Musharraf’s return from Dubai where he is undergoing treatment.”
The family also revealed that they had been assured that the Pakistani government and the military establishment would facilitate the septuagenarian general’s smooth return.
The development came on the heels of a Twitter statement from the family in which they said Musharraf’s “recovery is not possible”.
“He has been hospitalised for the last three weeks due to a complication of his ailment (Amyloidosis). Going through a difficult stage where recovery is not possible and organs are malfunctioning. Pray for ease in his daily living,” the family wrote in a Twitter post.
The developments triggered a media guessing game on the military’s possible reaction, which came through quickly. The chief military spokesperson said the “military brass believes Musharraf should be brought back to Pakistan”.
“General Pervez Musharraf’s health is very bad. In such a situation, the leadership of the institution is of the view that he should be brought back to Pakistan. But this decision will be made by his family and doctors,” Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said in a TV interview on June 14.
“Musharraf’s family has been contacted for this purpose,” he added. “If the family gives its consent, then arrangements would be made to bring him back.”
