Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said his government had become stronger following an extension given to former army chief General (retd) Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.

"Extension to former military chief General (retd) Ashfaq Kayani strengthened me as well as the Parliament," he said during an interview on Geo News.

While commenting on the issue of giving extension to the current army chief, Zardari said: "It is prerogative of the current government to give the extension or not."

When asked about PPP's failure to maintain their voter support in 2013 election, the former president questioned the electoral system of Pakistan and remarked that "Election 2013 was RO's (returning officers) election".

Regarding Bilawal Bhutto's four demands from the incumbent government and PPP's concerns over China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said: "We urge the federal government to take action on our demands for the betterment of Pakistan."

"We made a footprint for economic stability by bringing China closer to Pakistan," he maintained.

When asked about PPP's strategy over Panama Papers case, Zardari was of the view that, "Parliament is the right platform and democracy's evolution should happen in the parliament and not in the supreme court."

When asked to comment on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s strategy regarding Panama Papers case, Zardari said: “Imran Khan took Panama Papers’ investigation to the supreme court but what will happen if the court’s commission fails to deliver the desirable results.”

“Imran wants to hit six on every ball,” he added.

While answering a question regarding his possible return to Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari — who is currently living in a self-exile, dividing his time between London and Dubai since 2015 — commented, "I am not in exile but the circumstances made me take the back seat. I will be back in Pakistan in a couple of weeks."

"I was away from politics of Pakistan because I wanted to give space to Bilawal Bhutto and other political leaders," Zardari added.

When asked about Dr Asim Hussain’s case, the former president was hopeful that Dr Asim will be released soon. He was of the view that Dr Asim faced the brunt of the situation because he was a ‘soft target’.

The former president had abruptly left the country last year after a hard-hitting speech where he had lashed out at the military establishment for overstepping its domain.

Asif Ali Zardari, who served as the President from 2008 to 2013, also dismissed the allegations of working with and supporting Layari's notorious gangster Uzair Baloch against him and vowed to face the court over such allegations.