Updated on
Summary President Zardari is stable and resting in a Dubai hospital out of ICU, said presidential spokesman.
The president is stable, comfortable and is resting. Initial tests and investigations have been within normal range, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a text message.Zardari is in Dubai for treatment for a heart condition.Further tests will be carried out. The president is recuperating, said Babar.One source said Zardari had suffered a minor heart attack. His hospital stay has added a new element to uncertainty in Pakistan, an unstable, nuclear-armed U.S. ally facing everything from Taliban suicide bombings to crippling power cuts.Babar later quoted the doctor as saying that Zardari had been moved out of the intensive care unit to the normal hospital room in Dubai where he is resting.Zardari has been under heavy pressure in recent weeks following the resignation of the countrys ambassador to Washington over an alleged memo to the Pentagon asking for help in forestalling a feared coup attempt in May.The political saga is gripping Pakistan during a low-point in relations with the United States after a Nov. 26 cross-border NATO air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.Washington wants to ensure Pakistan is stable so that it can play a major role in efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan.The extent of Zardaris possible involvement in the memo case is a burning question.Zardari had been due to address parliament this week after the Supreme Court admitted an opposition leaders petition demanding a judicial inquiry into the memo issue, including any role played by Zardari. That address has now been postponed.
