World leaders congratulate Shehbaz

Saudi crown prince, Malaysian PM among leaders felicitating Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD:

At home the newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his government might be facing the question of legitimacy, but many world capitals appeared to have ignored those concerns as a number of leaders continued to send messages of felicitation to him on Monday.

Several world leaders and countries, including Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, United States, UK, Malaysia and others congratulated Shehbaz on his election as the prime minister and expressed willingness to work with his government.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman joined the world leaders to felicitate the new Pakistani prime minister. The de facto Saudi ruler, in a cable message, wished Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif success, and the people of Pakistan steady progress and prosperity.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have long standing strategic relationship, and in recent years Riyadh on many occasions came to Islamabad’s rescue in the wake of crippling economic crisis. The key Arab country would remain crucial for the new government as it is grappling with a series of challenges, including tackling the fragile economy.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon also congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, emphasising that through joint efforts, both the countries would enhance and expand long-term bilateral partnership.

“In felicitation message, he said that Tajikistan and Pakistan are linked by long traditions of friendship, mutual understanding, respect and trust,” according to the state-run Radio Pakistan. He said that the multifaceted cooperation between two countries, based on those good traditions, was constantly developing and enriched with new content.

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayab Erdogan, with whom the Sharif family has a long standing relationship, was the first world leader to telephone Shehbaz over his election victory. And on Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim telephoned and felicitated his newly elected counterpart.

Anwar Ibrahim also expressed good wishes for PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif upon which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked his Malaysian counterpart. Shehbaz also said that Pakistan and Malaysia had long standing brotherly relations and expressed Pakistan’s desire to promote its trade and diplomatic relations with Malaysia. He also invited the Malaysian prime minister to visit Pakistan.

US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome also extended congratulations to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on assumption of office. In his message on social media platform X, Blome said his country was looking forward to working closely with the new government and the people of Pakistan on mutual interests.

Similarly, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas sent a message of congratulation to Shehbaz on assumption of office of the prime minister. In his letter, the Palestinian president expressed his best wishes for the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the nation.

In his message he said that Palestine and Pakistan were bound in a historical and strong bond. The Palestinian president acknowledged that Pakistan had always raised its voice for the rights and justice of the Palestinian people.