Pakistani official to visit Kabul to discuss Karzai

Pakistan's national security advisor will visit Afghanistan Sunday to discuss the upcoming visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to Islamabad, the foreign ministry said Friday.

Sartaj Aziz, who will be accompanied by a senior official, will also call on the Afghan president and hold talks with senior Afghan officials on the reconciliation process and other matters, reports Xinhua.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has extended an invitation to Karzai to visit Pakistan. Sartaj Aziz will deliver a formal invitation to the president, the foreign ministry said.

Aziz's visit will be the first high-level exchange between the two countries since a new government took power in Pakistan following the May 11 election, foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said.

Queried whether Pakistan had the desire to review its policy on drone attacks, Chaudhry said the policy of the present government on the matter was not a hidden secret.

He said Pakistan had forcefully raised the issue of drone attacks with the US, saying the attack violated Islamabad's sovereignty as well as international law.

"The drone attacks are counterproductive because they are further fanning militancy."