Mamnoon Hussain was elected new President of Pakistan

Pakistan on Tuesday elected businessman Mamnoon Hussain as its 12th president, state TV said, to replace deeply unpopular head of state Asif Ali Zardari, whose five-year term expires in September.

Lawmakers from both houses of the national parliament and four provincial assemblies voted in the two-man race for the largely ceremonial president.

In a sharp reminder of the challenges the country faces, dozens of heavily armed Taliban militants stormed a prison in the northwest overnight, escaping with more than 240 prisoners.