Pakistan has elected a non-Muslim to a general seat in the national assembly for the first time in its recent history, even as the victory of ex-cricketer Imran Khan raises some concerns among minority communities.

Mahesh Kumar Malani, a 55-year-old Hindu, spoke to The Independent on Friday after it was confirmed that he had won his seat in the impoverished Tharparkar district of Sindh province.

As a member of the third-placed progressive Pakistan People’s Party, led by the son of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Mr Malani said he will now likely travel to Islamabad in opposition to Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Near-final results late on Friday showed PTI had won 115 of the 272 contested seats in the national assembly, while the incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) conceded defeat on 62. PPP placed third, with 43 seats.

And while coalition talks for Mr Khan to form a government are just beginning, Mr Malani was willing to get a headstart on taking the victorious former sportsman – whose critics dub him “Taliban Khan” for his perceived closeness to extremist Islamist groups – to task.

Extremism represents one of the biggest challenges to Pakistan’s future, Mr Malani said, alongside poverty. “We [PPP] can join hands with anyone if they have any actable agenda to fight against both poverty and terrorism in the best interests of the nation,” he said.

Standing up for minority rights represents one of the key tenets of the PPP manifesto, Mr Malani said, but he would not let his religion alone define his role in parliament.

“I am not only the representative of the Hindu or the minority,” he said. “In a general election the Muslim majority also votes for me, so I am going to perform my duty for all my people and for my nation. My agenda is to stand up for the rights of every citizen of Pakistan.”

On the campaign trail, Mr Khan rallied support from mostly Muslims with populist messages calling for the death penalty for blasphemers and vitriol against neighbouring India.

Most voters from religious minorities told The Independent on election day that they would vote for PML-N over Mr Khan’s PTI. Nadeem Masih, 30, from Islamabad’s small Christian community, said of Mr Khan: “He is not interested in our rights if I tell you the truth.”

For Mr Malani, the biggest issue with Mr Khan was not necessarily his courting of extremists, but rather his courting of independent candidates who regularly swap parties for elections to join the highest bidder – a group of influential, veteran politicians dubbed “electables”.

Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Show all 22 1 /22 Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistani security personnel gather at the site of a suicide attack near a polling station in Quetta AFP/Getty Images Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A man who was injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack outside a polling station, receives medical treatment at a hospital EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Polling stations in Pakistan opened for the general election, for around 105 million constituents AFP/Getty Images Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistani politician Imran Khan, center, chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, casts his vote EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistani security officials inspect the scene of a suspected bomb blast outside a polling station, in Larkana EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A Pakistani woman and her son react after her husband was injured in a suicide attack AFP/Getty Images Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Voters will have to choose from 11,000 candidates to elect 272 members of the Parliament for the next term REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), speaks to members of media after casting his vote at a polling station during the general election in Islamabad REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Bilawal Butto Zardari, chairman of Pakistan People Party visits a hospital in Larkana to meet people who were harmed in a blast outside a polling station EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing An election official marks a voters thumb before casting her vote AFP/Getty Images Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing At least 25 people were killed and 30 injured in the incident EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A polling officer shows empty ballot boxes prior to sealing them, at a polling station, in Peshawar EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing People stand in a line as they wait for a polling station to open in Rawalpindi REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A man who was injured in a suspected bomb blast outside a polling station, receives medical treatment at a hospital in Larkana EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing These elections are the second in Pakistan's history in which a government was able to complete its term to make way for another government after being ruled by military dictators for half of the 71 years of its existence since its founding in 1947 REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A rickshaw carries an electoral flag, as it rides past the mausoleum of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, early morning in Karachi REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistani security officials inspect the scene of a suspected suicide bomb attack outside a polling station during general elections in Quetta EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A Pakistani soldier checks a voters information AFP/Getty Images Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing An man walks past a wall with electoral posters in Karachi REUTERS Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing A woman shows her thumb marked with indelible ink after she cast her ballot EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Shahbaz Sharif, second left, President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz party which concluded its mandate recently, lines up to cast his ballot EPA Pakistan general election: vote turns violent after suicide bombing Pakistani voters stamp their ballots at a polling station in Rawalpindi AFP/Getty Images

“Imran Khan has the same team of ‘electables’ who were part of the previous governments of the PML-N and the PPP,” Mr Malani said. “Khan declared that previous government corrupt and specifically said all these ‘electables’ were corrupt too.

“I am surprised – how will Imran Khan bring the change he has promised with all these old faces? How are they now not corrupt, but have become honest and sincere?”

Mr Malani said it was nonetheless time for people to come together in the best interests of the country. He praised his campaign team of mostly Muslim workers and said he hoped soon other political parties would pick candidates like PPP “on merit, with no discrimination towards religion or any other basis”.