ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari will do politics and work for his Pakistan Peoples Party after vacating the presidency on Sept 8, Khursheed Ahmed Shah, the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and a senior PPP figure, told reporters on Thursday.

Answering questions at a reception for him by the Parliamentary Reporters Association about the future role of Mr Zardari after completing his five-year term as president, Mr Shah said: “He is our leader. He will remain in the country and do politics.”

Pointing out that Mr Zardari had suffered more than 11 years in prison, Mr Shah said there was no question of his going into exile.

Mr Zardari will become the first democratically elected president in the country to complete his five-year term, which runs out on Sept 8.

He will be succeeded by Mamnoon Hussain of Pakistan Muslim League-N who was elected to the office by a parliamentary electoral college on July 30.