Asif Ali Zardari will need several weeks to resume duties: Aide

Asif Ali Zardari, currently being treated for heart complications in Dubai, will need several weeks to be fit and resume his duties, one of his close aides said today, while acknowledging that "immense pressure" on the Pakistan President could be the reason for his condition.

Dismissing reports about the President suffering a stroke or facial paralysis, the aide said that Zardari had a mild heart attack and it would take weeks for him to recover.

"I can tell you with full assurance that the President had two stents inserted in his heart in 2005 and that he had a cardiac arrest, for which he has been taken care of well in the hospital in Dubai," the aide, who did not want to be identified, told PTI.

The aide further said: "The President will not be able to return to Pakistan shortly to resume his duties. You see even in a mild heart attack, it takes it a few weeks to recover."

The aide said that "immense pressure" on the President could be the reason for his condition.

"Being a heart patient, the President was facing too much pressure. And eventually the pressure took its toll," the aide said, without specifying what kind of pressure Zardari was facing.

Zardari's abrupt departure for Dubai on December 6 to seek treatment for what officials said was a previously diagnosed cardiovascular condition sparked speculation that he could be on the verge of resigning due to growing pressure on him from the powerful military.

PPP leaders have denied reports that Zardari had suffered a minor stroke and that he would step down.

Punjab Governor Latif Khosa, a senior leader of Zardari's Pakistan People's Party, told PTI that the President's condition is improving gradually and he would return soon.

"The President had a heart problem but now his condition is out of danger," he said.