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.

A year and a half after the deadly uprising that toppled Sheikh Hasina’s iron-fisted regime, the BNP said they had a won a “sweeping victory” in parliamentary elections held on Thursday.

Final results are still to come, but the United States was swift to offer its congratulations to Rahman and the BNP for an “historic victory,” its embassy in Dhaka said.

At 60, BNP leader Rahman is preparing to take charge of the South Asian nation of 170 million people, driven by what he calls an ambition to “do better.”

“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 also 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. While Pakistan-Bangladesh ties warm up, relations between Dhaka and New Delhi remain strained over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.

“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.