NEW DELHI: India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday congratulated Pakistani politician Nawaz Sharif on his “emphatic victory” in historic elections and said he hoped for better relations.

Singh wrote on his official Twitter account, “Congratulations to Mr. Nawaz Sharif and his party for their emphatic victory in Pakistan's elections”.

He said he hoped to work with Sharif to chart “a new course for the relationship” between the neighbours and invited him to “visit India at a mutually convenient time”.

Singh also congratulated “the people and the political parties of Pakistan for braving the threats of violence and voting in large numbers” in Saturday's election.

Partial unofficial results from the election represented a stunning comeback for Sharif, a wealthy 63-year-old tycoon who was deposed as prime minister in a 1999 military coup and spent years in exile.