Zardari to step down as Pakistan president

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari is due to step down on Sunday after holding the office for a record five years in a country that used to live under the shadow of military dictatorship. His greatest contribution to Pakistani politics is said to be the assertion of the democratic process in the country, RT reported. Six years after his wife, two-time prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was murdered, Zardari, 58, is set to make history by becoming the first elected president to complete a full term in office and hand over to another elected candidate after a peaceful ballot box. He is due to vacate the presidency on September 8 to a guard of honor. His successor, a businessman and close ally of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mamnoon Hussain, is to be sworn in on Monday.