Zardari leaves Presidential Palace after holding office for a record five years

(8 Sep 2013) Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stepped down on Sunday at the end of his five-year term, becoming the first democratically elected President in the country's history to complete his full term in office.
At a ceremony at the presidency shown live on state television, an honour guard bid farewell to a smiling Zardari.
His successor, Mamnoon Hussain, is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday.
Zardari rose to power after the assassination of his wife, two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in a gun and bomb attack in December 2007.
Analysts count his government's completion of a full term in a hostile political environment to his credit, as well as his strong stance against Islamic militancy.
However, economic mismanagement and a failure to tackle the country's energy crisis hurt Zardari's popularity, they say.
His other major accomplishments include transferring power in democratic elections in a country plagued by military coups.
Pakistani army dictators ruled for most of the country's 66-year history.
He also agreed to a constitutional amendment that transferred many of the President's powers to the Prime Minister, leaving his position as largely ceremonial.

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