PM Khan congratulates Tory leader on election victory

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday congratulated the Tory leader Boris Johnson for sweeping victory in the general elections.

In a tweet, the prime minister said that he “look(s) forward to working with him and continuing the cooperation” between Pakistan and the UK.

Johnson won an outright majority in the 650-seat parliament after an exit poll showed the tories on course to win a landslide 368 seats, the biggest Conservative national election win since Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 triumph.

A landslide Conservative win marks the ultimate failure of opponents of Britain’s departure from the European Union who plotted to thwart a 2016 referendum vote through legislative combat in parliament and prompted some of the biggest protests in recent British history.

“Thank you to everyone across our great country who voted, who volunteered, who stood as candidates. We live in the greatest democracy in the world,” Johnson tweet after winning an outright majority.

He wrote in another tweet, “It’s time for us to get this done and move this country forward”.

The Labour party was forecast to win 203 seats, the worst result for the party since 1935, after offering voters a second referendum and the most radical socialist government in generations. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would step down.

With results from across Britain indicating the exit poll was accurate, Johnson’s bet on a snap election has paid off, meaning he will swiftly ratify the Brexit deal he struck with the EU so that the United Kingdom can leave on January 31 — 10 months later than initially planned.

But nearly half a century after joining what has become the world’s largest trading bloc, Johnson faces the daunting challenge of striking new international trade deals, preserving London’s position as a top global financial capital and keeping the United Kingdom together.