PM congratulates Nawaz Sharif, invites him to India

Congratulating PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif who is poised to return to power in Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday expressed India's desire to work with the new government in the neighbouring country. He also invited Sharif to visit India.

"PM extends his congratulations to Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his party for their emphatic victory in Pakistan's elections," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted as it congratulated the people and the political parties of Pakistan for "braving the threats of violence and voting in large numbers".

"PM expressed India's desire to work with the new government of Pakistan in charting a new course for the relationship between the two countries," said another tweet.

The prime minister, in another post invited Sharif "to visit India at a mutually convenient time".

Nawaz Sharif was poised to return to power after a 14-year hiatus as results of the National Assembly elections started trickling in and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led in the elections by a big margin over other rivals.

The country of 180 million which has faced a string of terror attacks has defied Taliban diktat and bombings, as unfazed voters came out to cast their vote Saturday, recording a 60 percent turnout.

Sharif has served as the country's prime minister for two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993 and from February 1997 to October 1999. However, his both governments were dismissed before completing their constitutional term.