WASHINGTON: The United States Wednesday wished President Asif Ali Zardari well after aides said he suffered a heart attack and dismissed rumors that the civilian leader was being pushed out.
"We have seen the reports. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Zardari's illness sparked media reports that he is contemplating resignation, but loyalists ruled out the idea he may step down.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner, asked if the United States was worried that a quiet coup was underway against the embattled president, said: "No concerns and no reason to believe" the speculation.
"Our belief is that it's completely health-related," Toner told reporters.
Zardari is considered to have a fraught relationship with the military, which historically has been Pakistan's most powerful institution and has repeatedly pushed aside elected leaders.
Mustafa Khokhar, an adviser to Pakistan's prime minister on human rights who sits in the cabinet, told AFP in Islamabad that Zardari suffered "a minor heart attack" on Tuesday.
"He flew to Dubai where he had an angioplasty. He's in good health now," Khokhar said.
"There's no question of any resignation," he added.
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