Zardari rumours quashed

Amidst speculation that Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has fled the country and may resign due to growing political pressure, his close aide said that he is fit and would return to Pakistan within two to three days. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, visited Zardari at the American Hospital yesterday and wished him a speedy recovery. He was accompanied by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai. “An MRI [Magnetic Resonance Imaging] was done to check his brain on suspicion of a blood clot because he already has three stents in his heart ”Zardari aide "President Zardari is under observation at the hospital and the results of his medical tests are satisfactory," the Zardari aide told Gulf News from the hospital in Dubai, where the Pakistani leader was brought on Tuesday night. Officials denied reports that Zardari underwent an angioplasty. "An MRI [Magnetic Resonance Imaging] was done to check his brain on suspicion of a blood clot because he already has three stents in his heart," Gulf News was told. Zardari is in a VVIP section on the fifth floor of the hospital. Hospital authorities did not respond to queries about his condition, terming it "confidential". Zardari arrived in Dubai for a comprehensive medical check-up amidst speculation of his having resigned and fled the country. However, his office in Pakistan termed the reports part of the propaganda campaign against Zardari. Jamil Ahmad Khan, Pakistan Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News that doctors have conducted detailed medical tests, including MRI and blood tests, on Zardari and the medical reports are normal. He rejected all talk about Zardari's resignation. According to a statement from the prime minister's office in Pakistan, Zardari came to Dubai following symptoms related to his pre-existing heart condition. "After the initial medical tests in Dubai, doctors found him to be in stable condition. The President went to Dubai at the insistence of his children," the statement said. Zardari, who arrived in an air force plane, has come under growing pressure over a memo allegedly written by Hussain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the US asking for US assistance in curbing the powerful military.