Afghan president to visit Pakistan on 27th

ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will be visiting Islamabad on June 27 for a daylong trip.

He has spoken of mending ties with Pakistan and given an undertaking to open a new chapter in Pak-Afghan relations.

Ashraf Ghani who has made the announcement in his Eidul Fitr message is coming to Pakistan when it has been complaining of presence of elements in the Afghan tribal areas who are bent on creating disturbance inside Pakistan.

Such elements are working at the behest of Indian terror sponsoring intelligence agency RAW.

Ashraf Ghani said he would visit Pakistan on June 27 to open a new chapter in his country's relationship with its neighbour and mend ties that are often characterised by mistrust and tit-for-tat accusations.

According to wire reports, President Ashraf Ghani in his Eid message said he had agreed to the visit after his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan last week on the fringes of OIC summit in Makkah.

"I hope the visit will be positive," Ghani said.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the OIC summit, Prime Minister Imran and President Ghani exchanged views on bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process.

Prime Minister Imran had reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, according to a PM Office statement.

The prime minister also underlined Pakistan’s firm support to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process for political settlement.

It is expected that the Afghan president will have an important meeting with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and will be guest at the banquet to be hosted by President Arif Alvi.

The visiting president will also meet President Alvi. President Ashraf Ghani will be heading a delegation consisting of stalwarts belonging to various Afghan outfits and organisations.

The sources said US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad’s shuttle diplomacy had also played an important role in paving way for the visit.

President Ashraf Ghani will also visit India next month, the sources added.