Pak Prez Zardari back in Islamabad

Islamabad, Dec 22: After an absence of over two weeks, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has returned to Islamabad for consultations with senior leaders of the ruling PPP on the memogate case being heard by the Supreme Court and to meet a high-level Chinese delegation.

Zardari flew to the federal capital from the southern port city of Karachi late last night, Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. On Dec 21, Zardari had returned to Karachi from Dubai, where he had received treatment for a heart condition.

The President's abrupt departure for Dubai on December 6 had sparked rumours that he might be on the verge of resigning due to pressure from the powerful military establishment over a secret memo that had sought the US help to prevent a possible coup in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May.

The government has said that Zardari or Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had played no role in drafting or delivering the memo to the then US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen. Officials said the President had returned to the federal capital to meet the top leadership of the PPP and hold talks with a high-profile delegation from China led by State Councillor Dai Bingguo.

The meeting with the Chinese team will give Zardari the first opportunity to prove that speculation about his incapacity to govern was unfounded, they said.

PTI