19 Dec : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will make his first visit to Afghanistan on Friday since assuming office to discuss joint measures to combat terrorism and enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.Zardari, who will be visiting Afghanistan at the invitation of President Hamid Karzai, will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Interior Ministry chief Rahman Malik and North West Frontier Province Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani.
"In their interaction, the two leaders will discuss ways to jointly combat terrorism, which poses a common threat to the peace and security of both states. They will also deliberate on the future direction of bilateral cooperation," said a statement issued today by the Foreign Office.Karzai had visited Pakistan in September to attend Zardari’s swearing-in ceremony.
The two leaders have since met thrice on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York in September, at a trilateral meeting with Saudi King on the sidelines of an interfaith dialogue in New York in November and at the second trilateral Pakistan-Turkey-Afghanistan summit in Istanbul earlier this month.
The statement said Pakistan attached "high priority to forging close, friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan" and Zardari’s visit would "further consolidate friendly ties" between the two countries.