Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is “fine” and will return home soon, a news anchor quoted him as saying on Friday, nearly a week after his rush to a Dubai hospital led to speculation the unpopular 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.”
