ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday congratulated President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on his re-election.

On his X account the prime minister further posted that he looked forward to working with him to further strengthen Pakistan-Russian relations.

President Vladimir Putin sealed his control over Russia for six more years on Monday with a predetermined landslide in an election that followed the harshest crackdown on the opposition and?free speech since Soviet times.

Russia’s Central Election Commission said Monday that with nearly 100% of precincts counted, Putin got 87% of the vote. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said that nearly 76 million voters cast their ballots for Putin, his highest vote tally ever.