Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is “fine” and will return home soon, a news anchor quoted him as saying yesterday, nearly a week after his rush to a Dubai hospital led to speculation the leader might resign and even of a possible coup. “I’m fine and will return soon,” Zardari reportedly told Hamid Mir, a popular 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 yesterday, 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. Meanwhile, an Emirati daily said 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. Zardari suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes and has been under heavy pressure in recent weeks following the resignation of the ambassador to Washington over an alleged memo to the Pentagon asking for help in forestalling a feared coup attempt in May. Meanwhile, a prominent Pakistani cabinet minister was yesterday forced to dismiss rumours that a coup could overthrow the government, saying that unnamed “people” would foil any attempt to dislodge the president. Interior Minister Rehman Malik spoke to reporters outside parliament amid a frenzy of speculation over the health of President Zardari. “We understand that the people have given us a mandate for five years through elections and votes, and if someone tried to do something to the government, people would foil such attempts,” Malik said. “The situation is not as complex as you are viewing it,” he said in response to a journalist who said the crisis facing the government was serious. An article published on the website of the US magazine Foreign Policy sparked fevered speculation on Wednesday that Zardari was on his way out, forcing both Pakistan’s presidency and the US State Department to dismiss the rumours. That political saga immediately preceded a low-point in relations with the US after a November 26 cross-border Nato air attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The extent of Zardari’s possible involvement in the memo case is a burning question in Pakistan, where the military dominates, setting security and foreign policy. Zardari had been due to address parliament this week after the Supreme Court admitted an opposition leader’s petition demanding a judicial inquiry into the memo issue, including any role played by Zardari. That address has now been postponed. The government fuelled the rumour-mill by offering different explanations for Zardari’s trip to Dubai, initially saying it was previously scheduled routine medical tests. Then the prime minister’s media office said he went to get treatment for a “pre-existing heart condition.” Zardari was married to late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and came to power on the back of a sympathy vote after her assassination in 2007. He has failed to gain the respect of many Pakistanis, and perhaps more importantly, the military. Zardari, however, would become vulnerable to long-standing corruption charges in Pakistan by losing his legal immunity as a head of state if he steps down. Reuters