Hope new Pakistan government will ensure terror free South Asia: India on poll outcomes

Reacting to Pakistan's poll outcomes, India on Saturday expressed hopes that the new government in Pakistan will work towards ensuring a "safe and secure South Asia free of terror".

“We hope that new Pakistan govt will work constructively to build a safe, stable and secure South Asia free of terror and violence," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Reciprocating to Pakistan prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan’s peace gesture, the ministry said that India wanted a “prosperous and progressive” Pakistan at peace with its neighbours.

“India desires a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

In the recently concluded general elections in Pakistan, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party with 116 National Assembly seats.

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During his victory speech, Khan had said that he wanted friendly ties with India and advocated for bilateral dialogue between the neighbours to resolve several pending issues, including Kashmir.

Pakistan has a long history of supporting and providing terror groups safe haven in the country. India and international fraternity, including the US, has long been accusing Islamabad of giving shelter to terrorists like 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist, roams freely in the country and even contested elections under a dormant political entity – the named Allah-u-Akbar-Tehreek (AAT). He, however, stood rejected by the people of Pakistan after all the candidates supported by him failed to garner a respectable number of votes.

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