Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif speaks at the party office of Pakistan Muslim League (N), at Model Town in Lahore, Pakistan, February 9, 2024. (Photo:REUTERS)

Sharif's party won the most seats by a single party in the election, but supporters of imprisoned Khan, who ran as independents instead of as a single bloc after his party was barred from the polls, won the most seats overall.

Sharif said his party would talk to other groups to form a coalition government as it had failed to win a clear majority on its own. Sharif's announcement came after more than three-quarters of the 265 seats had declared results, more than 24 hours after polling ended on Thursday when 28 people were killed in militant attacks.

The results showed independents had won the most seats - 98 of the 245.

Sharif, 74, a three-time former premier, returned from four years of self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom late last year.