Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari fractured his foot while deboarding an airplane at the Dubai International Airport. The incident took place on Wednesday night (October 30), but his office confirmed it late night on Thursday, October 31.
According to a statement from the President House, Zardari was rushed to a hospital for treatment after he fell down at the airport upon his arrival in Dubai. His foot was placed in a cast following a check-up. “The cast will remain on his foot for four weeks,” the statement read.
The statement also said that President Zardari was sent home after the injury and advised complete rest.
A report by Pakistani newspaper Dawn stated that the 69-year-old president has suffered several health issues in recent years.
In March 2023, he had undergone an eye surgery in the United Arab Emirates. His family, including his son Foreign Minister and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and sister Faryal Talpur, had reached Dubai for his surgery. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, his close aide Dr Asim Hussain, and MPA Suhail Anwar Siyal were also in Dubai, Dawn reported.
He was allowed to go home after spending sometime in a daycare unit at the hospital after the surgery.
In 2022, he underwent chest infection treatment for which he was admitted to Karachi’s Dr Ziauddin Hospital for a week.
Amid rumours surrounding the Pakistan President’s ill health at the time, his personal physician and close aide Dr Asim Hussain took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that Zardari “is in good health”.
“Being the personal physician of Mr Asif Ali Zardari, I would like to state that all his reports circulating are fake. He is in good health and will be discharged in few days. I will update on a daily basis. Pay no heed to pranksters,” he had tweeted.
In July 2022, he had also tested positive for Covid-19 with “mild symptoms,” according to his son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
A year before this, Zardari was admitted to a private hospital in Karachi due to “exertion and exhaustion” caused by frequent travelling.
