Daily Times

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulated Pakistan on Wednesday’s general elections which saw Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the dominant force on the country’s political landscape with majority of seats in the National Assembly.

“The secretary general congratulates the people of Pakistan on July 25 general elections,” the secretary general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“By exercising their constitutional right to vote, the people of Pakistan have reaffirmed their commitment to a democratic Pakistan,” the statement said.

“The secretary general commends the Electoral Commission of Pakistan for the organisation of the elections, noting positive initiatives related to training and efforts to enhance the inclusion of women, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups, as well as first-time voters, in the electoral process,” it said.

“The United Nations is committed to continue to support the Electoral Commission. The secretary general looks forward to the formation of the new government and wishes it success in providing the people of Pakistan a stable, democratic and prosperous future,” the statement added.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi also offered his congratulations to Pakistan for successfully holding the recent parliamentary vote, which saw the massive participation of the people of the South Asian country.

In a statement released late on Friday, Bahram Qassemi hailed the high turnout in the parliamentary elections in Pakistan and expressed the hope that the bilateral ties between the two neighbouring countries would further expand.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as ever, is ready to make efforts to boost all-out cooperation between the two Muslim and friendly countries, especially in the new era, in line with the interests of the two great nations of Iran and Pakistan,” Qassemi said.

Published in Daily Times, July 29^th 2018.