Pakistan's Zardari leaves for Dubai despite tension with military

Jan 12, 2012, 12:57 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday flew to Dubai on a private visit, despite deteriorating relations with the country's powerful army and rumours of possible coup attempt by generals.

The Pakistani government is currently in a stand-off with the military revolving around an alleged memo sent to the United States last year asking for help to ward off a potential military coup.

Zardari was treated at a hospital in Dubai last month for heart trouble. His sudden departure on Thursday gave fresh impetus to rumours about his health and potential resignation.

But an official from the president's office dismissed them, saying Zardari had gone to attend a 'wedding' and would return by Friday.

Relations between the army and the government worsened on Wednesday when the army warned the government of 'grievous consequences' after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani accused army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani of violating the constitution.

Gilani hit back by sacking his defence secretary, a retired army general considered close to Kayani.

The ties between government and army began to unravel after the memo seeking US support surfaced last year.

The supreme court is investigating the memo scandal but it has already cost former ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, who is thought to have possibly written the anonymous memo, his job.

Tensions with the army have increased the problems of the government, already weakened by a confrontation with the judiciary over the reopening of graft cases against Zardari.