'Zardari suffers brain bleed, facial paralysis'

Islamabad: Asif Ali Zardari had suffered a mild stroke that caused bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis, a media report said Friday, even as the Pakistani president's office insisted his health was improving and he was "stable, comfortable and resting" in a Dubai hospital.

Zardari abruptly left Pakistan for Dubai Tuesday, triggering speculation about his health. There were also rumours of a coup, which the US scotched Thursday.

The president suffered a mild stroke, causing internal bleeding in the brain and facial paralysis, the News International quoted sources as saying.

Sources added that though medical test reports were clear and he was out of danger as the stroke and internal bleeding were not life threatening, the president would need treatment, including speech therapy, to resume his normal life.

In a bid to douse rumours of a military coup, Zardari's office said his health is improving and he is resting at the Dubai hospital.

The Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president's residence and principal workplace, issued a statement Thursday that he is in a stable condition.

Quoting the physician attending on Zardari in Dubai, the statement said: "The president is stable, comfortable and is resting."

"Initial tests and investigations have been within normal range while further tests will be carried out," the brief statement said.

However, a source quoted by the News International said Zardari had collapsed in the presidency Tuesday due to the stroke and may be taken to London for further treatment.

Zardari is high blood pressure patient and takes blood thinners.

The media report said that it was unclear how many more days the president would have to remain hospitalised.

There have been conflicting reports about Zardari's health.

But, president's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar stressed: "The president is recuperating."

According to Zardari's physician, the president was shifted from ICU to a hospital room Thursday evening, Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Babar as saying.

There have been conflicting reports about Zardari's health.

The official line, a day after Zardari left Pakistan, was that he had gone to Dubai for medical tests and also to meet his children, but army doctors who carried out a medical check declared him fit.

Doctors from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) had found Zardari fit after a check-up.

On the other hand, the US-based Foreign Policy magazine quoted a former American official as saying that parts of the US government were informed that Zardari had a "minor heart attack" Monday night. He had flown to Dubai via an air ambulance. Zardari may have to undergo an angioplasty procedure Wednesday and may also resign on account of "ill health", the media report said.

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The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Emeritus Senior Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, unveiled the bust and the Marker of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, at Asian Civilizations Museum, in Singapore on November 20, 2011.

(Photo: M. Asokan )