Islamabad, Dec. 15 (AP): Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was discharged from a hospital in Dubai late yesterday and will stay in his house in the Gulf state before returning home, his spokesman said.

Farhatullah Babar could not say when Zardari would fly to Pakistan, but expressed “no doubt” that he would do so. He said he was not sure whether doctors had given the 56-year-old leader permission to travel yet. Zardari’s illness and his sudden trip abroad have triggered rumours and media reports that Zardari could be set to resign, or even be ousted in a military coup. Officials have denied this, saying he will remain President of the nuclear-armed, violent and politically unstable nation.

So long as the President remains out of Pakistan, the media, his opponents and political observers are likely to continue to wonder whether he is being forced from power. A close associate of Zardari has said the President suffered a “mini-stroke”, but there has been no official diagnosis.

Earlier, the presidency faxed a statement bearing the letterhead of the American Hospital in Dubai, giving details of Zardari’s health. Signed by a doctor at the hospital, it said on admission the President was complaining of numbness in the left arm, twitching and had suffered a “loss of consciousness that lasted for a few seconds”.

The statement did not give a diagnosis, but said Zardari was to continue taking his regular heart medication.

It said doctors performed procedures including an MRI scan of his brain and a lumbar puncture taking fluid from his spine, and that results “were within normal range”.