ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan has won a disputed Pakistan election but has fallen short of an outright majority, according to official results announced Friday that indicate he will need to enter into a coalition to form a government.
A jubilant Khan has already declared victory in the pivotal vote, which has drawn allegations of massive vote-rigging in his favor.
The Election Commission said Friday that with only 11 seats left to count, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) enjoys a strong lead with 114 seats, and will be the biggest party in parliament.
At a press conference the commission said that the outgoing Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had 63 seats and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which could prove kingmaker in a coalition government, had won 43.
The count indicates PTI will not achieve the 137 seats needed in the National Assembly to form a majority government in its own right.
Election officials are under fire for the lack of a full official result two days after ballots closed, an unprecedented delay that observers say has undermined the legitimacy of the exercise.
The ECP has dismissed allegations of manipulation — blaming the delay in the results, an unofficial version of which had been expected late Wednesday, on technical glitches.
International observers, including a European Union delegation, are due to give their preliminary assessments of the vote on Friday, after rival parties, including the outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, alleged “blatant” rigging.
The vote is meant to be a rare democratic transition in the nuclear-armed Muslim country, which has been ruled by the powerful army for roughly half its history.
Khan, a 65-year-old former cricket star, claimed victory in a wide-ranging address to the nation Thursday.
“We were successful and we were given a mandate,” he said from his home in the capital Islamabad.
The former all-rounder’s statement came after his supporters took to the streets to celebrate winning an election.
Pakistan’s Imran Khan wins vote but no majority
Pakistan’s Imran Khan wins vote but no majority
- Imran Khan has fallen short of an outright majority that indicate he will need to enter into a coalition to form a government
- The Election Commission said Friday that with only 11 seats left to count, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) enjoys a strong lead with 114 seats, and will be the biggest party in parliament
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia explore joint investment push in high-growth regions
- Both sides discuss combining Pakistan’s production capacity with Saudi capital and regional market access
- Government says Saudi side expressed interest in corporate farming in Pakistan, particularly in rice sector
KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are looking to jointly tap high-growth regional markets and align production and capital strengths, according to an official statement on Wednesday, following talks between Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Saudi Investment Assistant Minister Ibrahim Al-Mubarak in the Kingdom.
The two countries have long maintained close bilateral ties that have evolved into a multidimensional strategic partnership.
In October last year, the two countries launched an Economic Cooperation Framework aimed at shifting relations beyond aid toward sustainable trade, investment and development links. The framework followed the signing of a joint security agreement a month earlier, under which aggression against one would be treated as an attack on both.
“A key focus of the discussion was the joint exploration of regional markets, particularly Central Asia, Africa, and ASEAN, identified as high-growth regions offering significant opportunities for collaboration,” according to a statement circulated by Pakistan’s commerce ministry after the meeting.
“The two sides agreed that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, by leveraging their respective strengths, can position themselves as complementary partners — combining Pakistan’s production capabilities with Saudi Arabia’s capital strength, market access, and regional connectivity,” it added.
The Saudi side expressed interest in corporate farming in Pakistan, particularly in the rice sector, with discussions covering mechanization, storage and logistics to enable consistent, long-term exports under structured arrangements.
Talks also covered broader cooperation in agriculture and food security, including rice, fodder, meat and other agri-products, with the potential involvement of Saudi financing institutions in supporting export-linked agricultural and infrastructure projects.
Corporate farming and mechanization were discussed as long-term solutions to productivity challenges in crops such as cotton, where declining yields and high manual input costs have hurt competitiveness, the statement said.
Human resource development emerged as another area of focus, with both sides noting shortages in mid-tier skills such as nurses, caregivers, technicians and hospitality staff.
The Saudi side expressed openness to replicating vocational “train-to-deploy” models in Pakistan that link training programs directly with overseas employment opportunities.
The meeting also examined opportunities in building materials, pharmaceuticals, sports goods, footwear and light manufacturing, with both sides agreeing to pursue sector-specific workshops and business-to-business engagements to translate policy alignment into tangible trade and investment flows.
