Zardari leaves for Dubai: Reported

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari left for Dubai on a scheduled one-day trip on Thursday, local television stations reported, amid growing tension over a memo seeking US help in preventing a coup by Pakistan's powerful military.

The unpopular president's trip comes during the worst tensions between Pakistan's civilian government and the military since a coup in 1999.

The army erupted in fury Wednesday over criticism from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani concerning a commission probing the "Memogate" scandal -- the bizarre and highly controversial case of an unsigned memo sent to the US military to seek its help in weakening Pakistan's military.

The memo has pitted the army against President Asif Ali Zardari's weak civilian administration, and the Supreme Court is now tasked with deciding if the government endorsed the note, and if so, if it can remain in power.