ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday congratulated Republican Donald Trump as he was elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House.
Trump, 78, recaptured the White House on Wednesday by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, Edison Research projected. His election is expected to usher in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.
Trump’s victory was confirmed just after 5:30am Eastern time when he captured the battleground state of Wisconsin, putting him above the threshold of 270 electoral votes. Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat marks the second time in eight years that a woman became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee only to fall short of a barrier-breaking victory.
“Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on his historic victory for a second term,” Sharif said on X. “I look forward to working closely with the incoming Administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-US partnership.”
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, a coalition partner in the Sharif administration, also congratulated Trump and his team.
“This is an anti-war victory. An anti war mandate. We hope the new administration will prioritize peace and help end the cycle of perpetual global conflict.”
Ties between Islamabad and Washington, once close allies, have just started to warm after many years of frosty relations, mostly due to concerns about Pakistan’s alleged support of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan denies this support.
Relations strained further under the government of former prime minister Imran Khan, who ruled from 2018-22 and antagonized Washington throughout his tenure, welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and later accusing Washington of being behind attempts to oust him. Washington has dismissed the accusations.
The government of PM Sharif that took over after Khan and is now in its second term has tried to mend ties but analysts widely believe the United States will not seek a significant broadening of ties with Islamabad in the near future but remain mostly focused on security cooperation, especially on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.
