Story highlights
NEW: Zardari was released Wednesday
Pakistan's president left intensive care a week ago
The president has a previously diagnosed heart condition, a spokesman says
There is speculation about whether the president will step down
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was discharged from a Dubai hospital Wednesday, a week after he was released from intensive care, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
Pakistan’s president has left an intensive care unit at a hospital in Dubai and is “resting to recuperate,” his spokesman said Thursday.
Reports about the president’s health have fueled speculation about whether he might step down.
Zardari traveled to Dubai on Tuesday.
Another spokeswoman, Farahnaz Ispahani, said Wednesday that the president was undergoing routine tests related to a previously diagnosed heart condition.
The trip to Dubai sparked rumors that Zardari had suffered a heart attack. But Babar, on Wednesday, described those reports as as “speculative, imaginary and untrue.”
Babar added that the president went to Dubai “at the insistence” of his children.
CNN’s Nasir Habib contributed to this report.