Daily Times

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday conveyed his heartiest felicitations to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman on Saudi Arabia football team’s historic win in a FIFA World Cup 2022 match.

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister said that Saudi Arabia made a history by staging the biggest upset in the World Cup thriller against Argentina.

“What a game of football it was!” he added.

The prime minister said that they shared the happiness of their Saudi brothers and sisters on the great win.

Saudi Arabia stunned the two-time winner Argentina with 2-1 goals in one of the biggest shocks in the football World Cup history during a thrilling Group C opener on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia has declared Wednesday (today) a public holiday to celebrate its historic win against Argentina. It applies to all employees in both public and private sectors, as well as all students across the country, Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday.

This isn’t the first time a public holiday has been declared after a World Cup win. Cameroon’s stellar performance against Argentina in the opening match of 1990’s tournament – often referred to as one of the biggest upsets in football history – also received similar reactions.

Meanwhile, Shehbaz Sharif extended felicitations to President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jamort Toqayev on his re-election in the presidential polls.

“I extend my heartiest congratulations to H.E. President Kassym-Jamort Toqayev on his victory in Kazakhstan’s presidential elections,” he posted on his Twitter handle. Shehbaz Sharif said both Pakistan and Kazakhstan enjoyed excellent brotherly relations and he looked forward to working with the Kazakh president to further deepen them.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in a snap election on Sunday, winning 81.3 percent of the vote.