Nawaz Sharif invites Indian PM for inauguration

PAKISTAN: Nawaz Sharif, who is set to be Pakistan's Prime Minister for a third time, said Monday he would invite Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to his oath-taking ceremony here.

An upbeat Sharif - whose victory in the elections saw the Karachi Stock Exchange-100 index zoom and breach a record - told foreign correspondents in his palatial residence in Raiwind that his government would establish friendly ties with India.

Riding on hopes of peace and stability, the KSE based in Pakistan's commercial hub Karachi gained some 300 points, breaking the KSE-100 index record of 20,000 points, as investors hailed the outcome of the May 11 polls, reported Geo News.

Unofficial results show that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has emerged the single largest party in the National Assembly with cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) standing second and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) relegated to the third spot.

Sharif said his government would devise a national policy to tackle terrorism, reported Dawn.

"We will contact every party for the purpose of forming our policy on terrorism," Sharif said.

Manmohan Singh had Sunday expressed New Delhi's desire to work with the new government. He also invited Sharif to visit India after the PML-N's win in the historic election, which saw the transition from one civilian government to another for the first time in 65 years. Amid the victory scenes, there were some complaints of rigging.

As the day progressed, the Election Commission of Pakistan summoned a meeting to review the complaints.

The day also saw Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood announcing his resignation from the post following the PML-N's clean sweep in the province.

Shahbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif's brother, is again expected to become chief minister of Punjab. He had become the chief minister of Punjab for the first time in 1997 and again in 2008.

DECCAN HERALD