ISLAMABAD: One of the medical team members who inspected and took samples from former first lady Bushra Bibi in Banigala on Thursday reported that the team has not discovered any signs of gradual poisoning in her body.
Doctors from the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore and the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad made up the medical team.
Days after Ms. Bibi, her husband Imran Khan, and a number of PTI leaders claimed that the former first lady had been slowly poisoned while incarcerated in the sub-jail for the Toshakhana reference, her lab samples were taken.
Dr. Asim Yousuf, the chief medical officer of Shaukat Khanum Hospital, told reporters that Ms. Bibi had not been tested for slow poisoning and that she did not exhibit any symptoms of the condition.
Doctors believe Shaukat Khanum and Pims are “perfectly alright,” but Raoof Hasan asserts that no lab in Pakistan can identify gradual poisoning.
The former first lady experienced health-related problems for about two months, Mr. Yousuf continued, but when the team visited her, she was “perfectly alright.”
He stated, “She herself said she was fine and there was no proof she was poisoned.”
The physician stated in response to a question that no samples were taken in order to determine the cause of the gradual poisoning. “Gastroscopy was recommended, and only blood samples were taken.”
Drs. Ayesha Javed from Pims’ Department of General Medicine, Ayesha Afzal from the Department of Ophthalmology, Ammara Aslam from the Department of ENT, and Maria Baloch from the Department of Gastroenterology were among the other members of the medical team.
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Ms. Bibi, 51, had “no previous co-morbid illnesses” when she was checked on Thursday, according to the medical report Dawn saw.
The patient claims that two and a half months ago, she consumed some food that resulted in dry skin, swelling of the lips, watering of the eyes, and a burning feeling in the epigastrium. This persisted for several hours before getting better.
The former first lady complained of “feeling a bad taste in the mouth,” irregular stomach ache, and early satiety during the course of the following several days.
She did not, however, suffer from dysphagia, which is a medical word for difficulty swallowing, or odynophagia, which is pain when swallowing.
The study also stated that although Ms. Bibi did lose weight in the early weeks of her confinement, she has since gained it back.
The patient is currently complaining of occasional minor lower stomach discomfort and unpleasant taste in their mouth. In addition, it said, “She reports sporadic ear blockage but no other ear or nasal symptoms.”
The report also stated that there were “no such signs or symptoms” from Ms. Bibi’s physical examination or medical history that would cause worry.
In a conversation with Dawn, a senior health ministry official stated that the medical team followed court orders when gathering samples.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that the ministry would “prefer to stay away” from the situation because of its high-profile nature.
“More information about the issues and reports may be announced by other government officials, such as the minister of information.”
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According to Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bokhari, Ms. Bibi’s samples were taken by four Pims doctors, and no signs of poisoning were found.
She continued, “Unfortunately, both the husband and the wife are chronic liars.”
However, according to PTI’s Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan, not a single laboratory in the nation was capable of identifying gradual poisoning.
Mr. Hasan also criticized the Punjab information minister’s remarks to Dawn, claiming that she was not aware that test samples from Canada or Germany were required to confirm gradual poisoning.
In the meantime, several tests were performed on Thursday on PTI politician and former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi, who is also admitted to Pims.
