Pakistan felicitates Donald Trump on winning second presidential term

As Donald Trump, the Republican's "victorious" president-elect, declared win against Democrat opponent and United States Vice-President Kamala Harris, Pakistan extended felicitations for his historic second term.

Trump, who resided in the White House as president from 2017 to 2021, will return to Washington after defeating Harris and becoming the 47th president of the US.

As the world extends its wishes to the winning Republican candidate, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, too, congratulated him for "historic victory for a second term", mentioning Trump as president-elect. 

"I look forward to working closely with the incoming Administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-US partnership @realDonaldTrump," wrote PM Shehbaz in his post.

PM Shehbaz's wish for Trump, who will return to assume the president's office in Washington for the second time, came after his victory speech was broadcast live for viewers around the world.

While complete results of the US presidential polls are yet to be announced, Trump — based on several US media reports including those of Fox News — has claimed victory in the historic race that saw a Black-South Asian woman Harris compete against a former white president.

The Democratic candidate is way behind in the race with 226 and Trump leading with 277 votes, as per the aforementioned American media.

On the other hand, Omar Ayub Khan — the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PIT) lawmaker — also extended congratulations to Trump and his VP-elect JD Vance on winning the polls.

"It is hoped that this team will foster better relations between the people of Pakistan and the people of the United States of America," he wrote in a post on X.

The PTI also took to their official X handle to congratulate the Republican candidate and his VP-elect, stating that the people of the United States have spoken and their "mandate has been respected".

It added that it is "a stark contrast to Pakistan, where the public mandate was blatantly stolen".

The felicitations from the PTI and Ayub come at a time when the party's founder Imran Khan remains imprisoned for over a year following convictions in multiple cases.

The wish for Trump is also crucial as the party has, according to claims made by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, urged foreign powers to influence Pakistan for the release of their founder and ensure moving him abroad.

During his tenure as prime minister of Pakistan, Imran shared amicable ties with Trump administration — a reason why the PTI celebrates the US president-elect's return to power as a potential advantage.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in his message for Trump, congratulated him and his team on the "election and historic comeback" and "resounding victory".

Terming the Republican's win and mandate "anti-war", Bilawal wrote: "We hope the new administration will prioritize peace and help end the cycle of perpetual global conflict."