TEHRAN, Jul. 28 (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has issued a statement congratulating successful parliamentary elections in Pakistan, expressing hope for further strengthening bilateral ties.

In the Friday statement, Ghasemi expressed “Iran’s readiness as ever to expand all-out ties between the two Muslim countries in line with the mutual interests of the two great nations of Iran and Pakistan.”

General elections were held in Pakistan on 25 July 2018 to elect the members of the 15th National Assembly and to the four Provincial Assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to preliminary results, former cricket star Imran Khan's center-right Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 115 seats out of a potential 270 seats but failing to win a majority in the National Assembly.

The former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N came far behind PTI with 62 seats, and in third place was the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of assassinated two-time prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Other smaller parties have also gained several seats each.

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