Iran Fully Prepared for Close Ties with Pakistan As Sharif Elected PM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Tehran embraces close cooperation and growing relations with Pakistan in accordance with its policy of good neighborliness.
In a message on Sunday, Raisi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on his election as the prime minister of Pakistan for a second term.
“Iran is fully prepared for stronger and deeper relations in all areas of bilateral ties with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a brother and neighbor within the framework of its permanent policy,” Raisi said.
He also expressed confidence that the mutual cooperation will grow in light of deep-rooted, age-old and cultural bonds between the two neighboring nations.
The Iranian president also hoped that the new government of Pakistan would ensure growth and prosperity in the Muslim country.
Pakistani legislators on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s prime minister for a second term following the last month’s election.
Pakistanis voted on February 8 in polls marred by allegations of large-scale rigging and delayed results. On Sunday, the National Assembly, as the lower house of parliament is called, met to elect the premier.
Shehbaz secured 201 votes in the 336-member National Assembly, comfortably prevailing over rival Omar Ayub Khan, who won 92. The winner needed at least 169 votes.
Sharif, 72, served as prime minister until August last year when the National Assembly was dissolved to make way for a caretaker government, tasked with holding the national elections.