As Taliban attacks mount in neighbouring Afghanistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif would be visiting Kabul today (Tuesday) with a high level delegation on the invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the situation with special emphasis on efforts being made to bring the militants on the talks table.
This will be PM Sharif’s second visit to Afghanistan and the first after the installation of National Unity Government in Kabul.
As a pre-cursor to his visit, the prime minster chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to discuss Pakistan-Afghanistan relationship in all dimensions. The meeting, attended by chief finance, foreign and military officials, reiterated the need to consolidate and improve bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Per visit’s agenda, the premier will have tête-à-tête with President Ghani at a luncheon, will separately meet Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah and hold delegation-level talks with the Afghan side.
Building close cooperative relations with Afghanistan is a high priority in Pakistan’s foreign policy and a vital component of PM Sharif’s vision of a peaceful neighbourhood. The visit comes at a time when bilateral relations between the two countries are underpinned by unprecedented warmth, mutual trust and a shared vision of working in lockstep to build a peaceful and stable region.