President not quitting: spokesman

Pakistan

President not quitting: spokesman

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All these reports are untrue, imaginary and speculative, spokesman Farhatullah Babar told media.

07 December,2011 12:19 pm

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari traveled to Dubai for medical tests on his heart after falling ill, officials and associates said Wednesday, describing his condition as not life-threatening.The presidents spokesman denied a media report that the trip meant Zardari, who has been under pressure from a memo scandal that forced the Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. to resign, would cite failing health as a pretext to step down.All these reports are untrue, imaginary and speculative, spokesman Farhatullah Babar told The Associated Press.Zardari traveled to Dubai on Tuesday for routine tests linked to a previously diagnosed cardiovascular condition, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted the presidents personal physician as saying.Zardari traveled to London in September to undergo an angiography and was reportedly given a clean bill of health.Close associates of the president said he is currently unwell, but did not provide specifics. His condition did not appear to be life-threatening, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.Babar, the presidents spokesman, echoed this diagnosis, saying it is not serious, not dangerous. The president will return to Pakistan soon, he said.An article published Tuesday on the website of Foreign Policy magazine quoted an unnamed former U.S. government official as saying Zardari was incoherent when he spoke with President Barack Obama by telephone over the weekend.Parts of the U.S. government were informed that Zardari had a minor heart attack on Monday night and may resign on account of ill health amid the uproar over the memo scandal, said the official.The scandal centers on a memo sent in May to U.S. Adm. Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, asking for his help in preventing a supposed coup by the Pakistan military following the covert American raid that killed Osama bin Laden.The operation in a Pakistani garrison town outraged Pakistani officials because they were not told about it beforehand. It also humiliated the military because they were not able to stop it.Mansoor Ijaz, an American businessman of Pakistani origin, has accused Husain Haqqani, Pakistans recently resigned ambassador to the U.S., of crafting the memo with Zardaris support allegations both Haqqani and the president have denied.