Is President Zardari going to flee Pakistan? Reports say his family has already left for Dubai

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A major political crisis seems to be brewing in Pakistan. With firebrand Islamic cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri and the Supreme Court waging a sort of coup against the civil government, rumours were abuzz that President Asif Ali Zardari was on his way out of the country.


While on one hand Qadri on Tuesday refused to call off his revolutionary protests over corruption issue aimed at overthrowing the government, on the other the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the rental power case.

Both Zardari and Ashraf have been going through a crucial phase, especially the latter with the Supreme Court deadline to arrest him within 24 hours inching closer.

A section of Pakistani media reported that amid increased fears of uprising by Qadri's sit-in outside parliament, Zardari's family had left for Dubai from a Pakistan airport early on Wednesday. There were even reports of Zardari also fleeing Pakistan, however, there was no confirmation of he or his family leaving the country. Some other reports said that the President's special aircraft was put on standby.

Meanwhile, Qadri has vowed to continue his high decibel campaign against the government. The protests which started in Islamabad on Tuesday continued for the second day. During his fiery speech on Tuesday, Qadri had asked the government to resign and urged his followers to stay on the streets of the capital until their demands were met.