ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday for congratulating him earlier this week, after he was sworn in to lead Pakistan following a contentious election. 

The Saudi crown prince congratulated Sharif on Monday after he was sworn in as Pakistan’s 23rd prime minister. Sharif, 72, was elected by Pakistan’s parliament to lead the country on Sunday after he secured 201 votes, defeating jailed former prime minister Imran Khan-backed candidate, Omar Ayub.

Modi, meanwhile, congratulated Sharif on Tuesday for becoming Pakistan’s prime minister. Modi is the chief executive of India, Pakistan’s bitter rival with whom it has fought three wars since 1947. 

“I wish to thank my brother, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of brotherly Saudi Arabia, for the warm wishes and prayers on my assumption of the office of Prime Minister,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. 

Sharif noted that ties between the two countries were rooted in mutual respect, religious and cultural affinity. 

“I am confident that these fraternal ties will keep flourishing in the times to come,” the Pakistani premier wrote. 

“Looking forward to working closely with my brother for mutual benefit of the peoples of the two brotherly countries.”

He also thanked Modi for congratulating him earlier this week. 

“Thank you @narendramodi for felicitations on my election as the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” Sharif wrote.

He also thanked the emir of Qatar, the president of Kenya and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for congratulating him in separate posts on X. 

Sharif’s election to the prime minister’s office came three weeks after the Feb. 8 general elections threw up a hung National Assembly, unleashing weeks of protests by opposition parties over allegations of rigging and vote count fraud.

He now faces an overlapping trio of political, economic and security crises, much like in his previous tenure from April 2022 to August 2023.