Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani sent a message of good wishes to the ailing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and prayed for speedy recovery of his health.
“I and the people of Pakistan have received the news of your illness with great concern. The Iranian nation is fortunate to have a leader of your high caliber commitment and dynamism as its president,” Gilani said in a message on Sunday.
“Iran and Pakistan are brotherly countries and I assure that every Pakistani is praying for you and keenly awaiting your early recovery,” Gilani said.
Reports said earlier that Iranian President Ahmadinejad has fallen ill due to his heavy workload.
On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad called off a speech because he felt unwell, fuelling speculation on some Iranian news sites that he may be unfit to seek re-election next year.
But Culture Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi told reporters on Sunday that the president is now back on his feet.
“He is in good shape and better than me,” Saffar Harandi told reporters.
Asked if the 52-year-old president had been ill, Harandi said, “Because of overwork it happens to him a lot.”
Blood “pressure dropping, going to the ICU (intensive care unit) and receiving intravenous (treatment) has happened to him before and does happen,” he said.
It is not unusual for Ahmadinejad to work 21 hours a day with no rest, said the minister.
