ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: As a part of efforts to promote bilateral relations which remained strained in the past, Pakistan and Afghanistan are having formal talks in Islamabad on Saturday.
In the talks which are being held to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is leading the Pakistani delegation while the Afghan side is led by its President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
The two sides are holding threadbare discussions on way and means to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse fields including security, trade and economy.
Earlier, the Afghan president who is currently in Islamabad on a two-day official visit to Pakistan arrived at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad, wherein a formal welcome ceremony was held in his honor.
A smartly turned out contingent of the armed forces presented guard of honor to the visiting dignitary while anthems of both the countries were also played.
The Afghan president arrived in Islamabad on Friday morning on a two-day official visit to Pakistan, one of the first foreign counties where the Afghan president has paid visits since he became the President of Afghanistan on September 29.
Following his arrival in Islamabad, the Afghan president has already held talks with President Mamnoon Hussain, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
The Afghan president’s visit to Pakistan will help in efforts to reset bilateral relations between the two countries.
The relations between the two neighboring countries were particularly strained under former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who routinely accused Pakistan of providing support to the Afghan Taliban.
