ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday congratulated the newly elected president of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on their power-sharing agreement.

In a telephonic conversation, Sharif congratulated both leaders separately on being elected in the Afghanistan elections 2014 and on their deal for the roles of president and chief executive.

PM Nawaz Sharif assured the full support of the government of Pakistan in helping its Afghan brothers in promoting peace and reconciliation.

The PM also extended an invitation to both the leaders to visit Pakistan.

The deal follows weeks of negotiations on a power-sharing arrangement following accusations by Mr Abdullah regarding fraud in the June runoff vote.

The deal is a victory for US Secretary of State John Kerry, who first got the candidates to agree in principle to share power during a July visit.

Ashraf Ghani — who won June's run-off vote according to preliminary results — is set to emerge as president, with Abdullah Abdullah nominating his pick for the new post of “chief executive officer”, possibly taking on the role himself.

Both Ghani and Abdullah claim to have won the fraud-tainted election, and the United Nations has pushed hard for a “national unity government” to avoid a return to the ethnic divisions of the 1990s civil war.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, who became the president and Abdullah Abdullah became the chief executive as outgoing President Hamid Karzai watched.