ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday congratulated Tarique Rahman on the “resounding victory” of his Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in parliamentary elections, saying that he looked forward to working closely with the new Bangladeshi leadership.

BNP’s media unit said on X Friday it had secured enough seats in Parliament to govern on its own, though rival group Jamaat-e-Islami raised concerns over delayed results. The final tally has not yet been announced by the Election Commission, but several local media outlets reported the BNP crossing the 151-seat threshold needed for a majority in the 300-member Parliament.

BNP is headed by the 60-year-old Rahman, its prime ministerial candidate who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who died in December.

“I extend my warmest felicitations to Mr. Tarique Rahman on leading the BNP to a resounding victory in the Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh,” Sharif said on X. “I also congratulate the people of Bangladesh on the successful conduct of the elections.”

Sharif’s statement comes amid Islamabad’s efforts to rebuild relations with Bangladesh, amid a thaw in relations between the two countries. Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until Bangladesh’s secession following a bloody civil war in 1971, an event that long cast a shadow over bilateral ties.

Both countries have moved closer since August 2024 following the ouster of Hasina, who was considered an India ally, in a mass uprising. 

“I look forward to working closely with the new Bangladesh leadership to further strengthen our historic, brotherly multifaceted bilateral relations and advance our shared goals of peace, stability, and development in South Asia and beyond,” Sharif said.