Pakistani President Musharraf Dismisses Coup Rumors
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pakistan's president, speaking from New York, dismissed as "nonsense" widespread speculation that his military-led government had been overthrown during his absence.
A nationwide power outage and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's stop at a U.S. hospital over the weekend give rise to rumours of a coup.
But in an interview Sunday with Pakistani TV, Musharraf called the rumours "nonsense in nonsense in nonsense." He spoke during a trip to the United States to address the U.N. General Assembly and meet with U.S. officials.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Musharraf, 63, underwent routine testing with his cardiologist on Saturday during an unannounced trip to Texas a day after meeting with President Bush in Washington.
The Pakistani president was "found to be in excellent health," according to a statement from the regional medical center in the East Texas town of Paris.
After leaving the hospital, Musharraf attended a private luncheon in the small town about 105 miles northeast of Dallas, The Paris News reported in Saturday's online edition.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Sunday, millions of homes across Pakistan were left without power for several hours after a glitch in the national electricity transmission system, government officials said.
Musharraf, who is expected to return to Pakistan on Saturday, himself came to power in a bloodless 1999 coup. He became a key U.S. ally in the war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.