ISLAMABAD / DUBAI: President Asif Ali Zardari is “fine” and will return home soon, a news anchor quoted him as saying on Friday, nearly a week after his rush to a Dubai hospital led to speculation he might resign and even of a possible coup.
“I’m fine and will return soon,” Zardari reportedly told Hamid Mir, a news anchor, who repeated the comments on state television. “I did not want to leave. My children and friends and the prime minister insisted that I go for a checkup.”
The issue of the president’s health has gripped Islamabad, exacerbating a series of cascading crises. News media, bloggers and analysts have openly speculated that Zardari would resign or that a coup was afoot.
Zardari seemed to acknowledge the speculation.
“Those that run from the country run with their kids,” Mir quoted the president as saying. “My son is in Pakistan. I left him there.”
“My enemies will be disappointed.”
Zardari likely suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), sources said on Friday, which can produce stroke-like symptoms but no lasting damage to the brain.
According to the US National Institute of Health web site, a TIA occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain stops for a short period of time. It can produce “stroke-like” symptoms for up to two hours.
“The MRI is clear, but we suspect it may have been that (a TIA)”, said one party official who requested anonymity.
TIAs can be precursors to actual strokes if not quickly treated, which usually include blood thinners to reduce clotting.
Zardari’s return could take ‘weeks’: Report
An Emirati daily newspaper had earlier reported that Zardari is to remain under medical observation in Dubai and it could be weeks before he returns home.
“It can take two days or even more than two weeks, it all depends on what doctors advise him,” Gulf News said, citing one of Zardari’s close aides at the hospital.
“He may leave the hospital and rest in his house under observation of doctors, but we want him to stay here because he needs rest,” the aide said.
The 56-year-old president has a long-standing heart condition and his admittance to the hospital sparked fevered speculation in Western and Pakistani media that he may be on his way out.
Zardari, elected in 2008, faces a major scandal over what extent he may have been involved in alleged attempts by his ambassador to Washington – since forced to resign – to seek US help to limit the power of Pakistan’s powerful military.
If he remains in office until his mandate ends, and polls are held, it would be the first democratic transition of power in Pakistan.
“The president is stable, comfortable and is resting,” the presidential palace said in a statement on Thursday.
“Initial tests and investigations have been within normal range while further tests will be carried out,” it read.
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