SOON after the Panamagate, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif felt the need to visit Britain for a medical check-up. After requisite tests, he got a clean bill of health and returned home.

Thereafter, the prime minister toured around the country addressing public meetings, besides which he also travelled abroad on official trips. But in a matter of weeks he again felt unwell and left for London on May 22 for medical attention. This time he`s been prescribed open-heart surgery.

Voltaire had observed: `The fate of a nation has of ten depended on the good or bad digestion of a prime minister.` How much more would this be true when the malady is cardiological? While he and his aides are downplaying the whole episode, reflection shows that a chronic heart patient cannot be relied upon to run a country, especially one like Pakistan. Could it be that in his extreme ambition to become premier for a third time and effectively set up family rule, he gambled with the nation`s fate? In his recent bool<, The Impact of Illness on World Leaders, Bert E. Park has said the impact of aging and disease on leadership abilities is an important, potentially devastating problem which has been ignored by the people in a position to deal with it.

Physicians who attend men in power, supported by government officials and politicians, often disguise their patients` infirmities and keep them in office long after they are able to function effectively.

In those few instances when the problem has been addressed,ithas often been done by journalists or others not qualified to make a medical judgement about a leader`s health, and they`ve relayed erroneous information (e.g., the myth of Hitler`s syphilis). Part of the goal of this book is to correct such popular misconceptions. Dr Park concludes his study with suggestions for monitoring the health of leaders and removing them if their health compromises their ability to lead.

One wishes Mr Sharif a speedy recovery and also prays for Pakistan`s welfare. Yet, we need to know the exact status of his health and whether he can lead us through increasingly dangerous times.

A concerned citizen Karachi