ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is "fine" and will return home soon, a news anchor quoted him as saying on Friday, nearly a week after he was rushed to Dubai for health reasons that led to rumors of his resignation and speculation about a possible coup.

"I'm fine and will return soon," Zardari reportedly told Hamid Mir, a popular news anchor, who repeated Zardari's statement on state television. "I did not want to leave. My children and friends and the prime minister insisted that I go for a checkup."

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The Telegraph newspaper reported Friday that Zardari had suffered from something similar to a stroke.

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Doctors reportedly diagnosed him as having had a Transient Ischemic Attack, which occurs when blood flow to parts of the brain stops briefly.

While the symptoms are similar to a stroke, they do not last as long, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

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