Imran Khan to embark on maiden Afghan visit on Thursday

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, on invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will leave for a day-long visit to Kabul on Thursday, the Foreign Office said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

This will be the premier's first visit to Afghanistan since assuming office in 2018, the Dawn reported.

He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Adviser on Commerce to the Prime Minister Razak Dawood, and other senior officials, the statement added.

"The Prime Minister's programme includes tete-e-tete with President Ashraf Ghani, delegation-level talks, and joint press stake-out. The focus would be on further deepening the fraternal bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan peace process, and regional economic development and connectivity," it said.

The premier's visit is part of regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to the FO, "building on the sustained engagement between the two countries in recent months for enhancing bilateral cooperation in diverse fields".

The FO said Commerce Adviser Dawood had already completed a three-day visit to the country as "part of this process" and "held in-depth discussions on bilateral trade and investment ties and matters related to transit trade".

Other than meeting a number of dignitaries representing a cross-section of the Afghan government, Dawood had also called on President Ghani and discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to trade and economic integration.

During his visit, Pakistan and Afghanistan held a meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA) to deal with problems hindering the smooth implementation of a revised transit treaty.