Former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan's party, the PTI, has won this week's general elections and is now in a strong position to form a coalition government. The Election Commission announced complete preliminary results on Saturday, giving the PTI almost twice as many seats in parliament as its nearest rival. Our correspondent Danial Khan reports from Islamabad.

DANIAL KHAN ISLAMABAD "Imran Khan, chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has started preparations for formation of his party's government at the Centre, after winning a majority of seats in the National Assembly. The PTI is working to form its government in Punjab province, and has started contacting leaders of different parties and independent candidates. Punjab was the stronghold of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who is in prison with his daughter on corruption charges. His brother, the new party chief, Shahbaz Sharif is still hoping to retain power in Punjab. But it will only become clearer when the smaller parties along with independents choose who to opt for. Meanwhile, a multi-party conference attended by leaders of various parties was held in Islamabad, it rejected the results of the poll and demanded a re-election! The most vocal character of conference was Fazl-ur-Rahman, who has had an embarrassing defeat in the election. Observers say he has always opposed Imran Khan and will try his best to sabotage the next government. Interestingly the 3rd largest emerging party in the elections, the PPP did not attend this meeting. Experts say it must be recognized that Imran Khan has emerged as the most popular leader in the elections and following his speech about economic and governance reforms and foreign policy priorities, he must be given the political space to try and turn his thoughts into reality. Danial Khan, CGTN, Islamabad."