Leader of Afghanistan's Hizb-e-Islami to visit Pakistan

<p id="content">Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Afghanistan's Hizb-e-Islami party, is scheduled to embark on a three-day visit to Pakistan today, the Foreign Ministry here said.</p>
In a statement yesterday, the Ministry said that during the visit Hekmatyar will hold discussions on the Afghan peace process and other bilateral issues, reports Xinhua news agency.

Hekmatyar will call on President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, and other senior leaders.

He is also scheduled to address a policy think-tank and interact with the media, the statement said.

"Pakistan attaches high importance to its fraternal ties with Afghanistan, rooted deep in shared history, faith, culture, values and traditions. Pakistan fully supports all efforts for peace, stability and prosperity of the Afghan people," it added.

This is the second high-level visit from Afghanistan after Abdullah Abdullah, the head of Afghan peace Council, came to Pakistan in late September, reports The Express Tribune.

Hekmatyar was a Mujahideen leader, who fought against the former Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan.

He also served as the Afghan Prime Minister in 1990s.

After the ouster of Taliban regime in 2001 by the US, Hekmatyar fought against the US-led forces.

But in 2016, he signed a peace deal with President Asharaf Ghani, ending his 20 years of exile and resistance.

The visit comes as the intra-Afghan dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government is currently underway in Doha.

So far the two sides have been trying to evolve consensus on the agenda and rules of engagement..