Afghan President to visit Pakistan on June 27

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday said that he will visit Pakistan on June 27 in an effort to improve bilateral relations that are often hampered by mistrust and reciprocal accusations.

In his message to mark Eid-ul-Fitr, Ghani said he agreed to visit Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan after he met him last week on the sidelines of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Saudi Arabia, Tolo News reported.

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

The Afghan leader said that though he had a productive meeting with Khan in Saudi Arabia, there was still a need of practical steps. "'Introductory' meetings are not required, there should be practical meetings."

Kabul has accused Pakistan of harbouring Taliban militants who launch attacks inside Afghanistan, but Ghani said he was hopeful that years of mistrust can be replaced by mutual trust and cooperation towards peace.

During their meeting on June 1, "Khan assured Ghani that Islamabad will support Kabul in bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan", the Pakistani Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

"Prime Minister Imran Khan reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. He also underlined Pakistan's firm support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process for political solution in Afghanistan," the statement said.

The statement added that Ghani and Khan will further discuss security and economic issues in the forthcoming visit of the Afghan President to Islamabad.

--IANS

soni/ksk