Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari traveled to Dubai for medical tests on his heart after falling ill, officials and associates said Wednesday, triggering Twitter-fueled rumors that the under-pressure leader may be stepping down.
The president's spokesman denied the speculation.
"All these reports are untrue, imaginary and speculative," 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 president's 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 president's spokesman, echoed this diagnosis, saying "it is not serious, not dangerous." The president will return to Pakistan soon, he said.
Zardari, fiercely disliked by many in the media and Pakistan's political world, has been under pressure since the Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. was forced to resign after allegations he sent a memo to Washington asking for its help in reigning in the powerful military.
An article published Tuesday on the website of Foreign Policy magazine appeared to be the source of the speculation.
It 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.
Twitter users then spread the story, and it was picked up by Pakistan's ratings-hungry television channels. Zardari, a canny political operator, has survived many predictions of his downfall since he became president in 2008.
The president's spokesman denied the speculation.
"All these reports are untrue, imaginary and speculative," 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 president's 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 president's spokesman, echoed this diagnosis, saying "it is not serious, not dangerous." The president will return to Pakistan soon, he said.
Zardari, fiercely disliked by many in the media and Pakistan's political world, has been under pressure since the Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. was forced to resign after allegations he sent a memo to Washington asking for its help in reigning in the powerful military.
An article published Tuesday on the website of Foreign Policy magazine appeared to be the source of the speculation.
It 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.
Twitter users then spread the story, and it was picked up by Pakistan's ratings-hungry television channels. Zardari, a canny political operator, has survived many predictions of his downfall since he became president in 2008.
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