Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari returned home from Dubai on Friday, hours before parliament reconvenes for a special session to discuss Supreme Court’s warning that it could take action against him and the Prime Minister for failing to reopen high-profile graft cases.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar confirmed to the media that Mr. Zardari had travelled to Dubai to attend a friend’s son’s wedding and had reached Islamabad at 5 am.
Mr. Zardari had triggered widespread speculation about his future when he abruptly travelled to Dubai last month and spent nearly a fortnight there to be treated for a heart condition.
He made the one-day trip to Dubai after matters reached a head in the confrontation between the civilian government and the military over an alleged memo that had sought US help in reining in the army following the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May last year.
The government is also facing the heat from the Supreme Court, which recently warned that action could be taken against the President and Prime Minister if authorities did not write a letter to the Swiss government to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Mr. Zardari.
Keywords: Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan government, Zardari Dubai visit, memogate
