Jailed Shah Mahmood Qureshi hospitalised in Lahore for gallbladder surgery

Former foreign minister and senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been admitted to the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute (PKLI) in Lahore for treatment of gallbladder stones, according to his daughter.

In a statement shared on Friday, Qureshi’s daughter said her father had been living with gallbladder stones for several years. She added that doctors had advised surgery in 2023 while he was incarcerated in Adiala Jail after his condition worsened, but he chose to postpone the procedure at the time due to being held in solitary confinement.

She stated that the stones had since increased in size and that surgery was now unavoidable. “We await the doctors’ final report and a confirmed date for the operation. He is undergoing baseline tests, especially considering he also suffered a cardiac emergency earlier this year while in Kot Lakhpat Jail,” she said.

Expressing concern over the health of other PTI leaders and workers, she remarked that many had endured serious medical complications during and after their imprisonment.

“Every single PTI leader and worker who has faced incarceration over the past year has suffered health consequences under inhumane and unjust conditions,” she said, naming Dr Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmood ur Rasheed, Umer Cheema, and Senator Ejaz Chaudhry among those affected.

She added that some workers had lost their lives while in custody and urged the public to pray for all those imprisoned, including her father, PTI founder Imran Khan, and Bushra Bibi.

“Their endurance under such cruelty is a reminder of both the cost and the courage of standing by one’s convictions,” she said.