ISLAMABAD - THE party of former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif accepted defeat in Saturday's presidential election, saying it hoped winner Asif Ali Zardari would be 'apolitical' as head of state.

'We accept the results and we hope Zardari will resign from his party position immediately,' Khwaja Saad Rafiq, leader of Sharif?s PML-N party told reporters after the election.

PML-N information secretary Ahsan Iqbal added: 'We hope Zardari will remain apolitical as president.'