PML-N leader Sartaj Aziz. PHOTO: EXPRESS
The visit by Aziz comes after Hamid Karzai's chief of staff claimed the Taliban's office in the Qatari capital Doha was part of a plot to break up Afghanistan, orchestrated by either Pakistan or the United States.
Pakistan's support is seen as vital to achieving lasting peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan. But relations between the two neighbours are rocky, with Kabul regularly accusing Islamabad of supporting the militants.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kept the foreign affairs portfolio under his own control after winning the May general election, but Aziz, an elder statesman who served as a minister in the 1990s, is effectively the foreign minister.
A senior official told AFP Aziz would pay a day-long visit to Kabul on Sunday to hold talks with Karzai and other top Afghans.
He said the talks "will primarily focus on ways to promote reconciliation in Afghanistan with reference to the Doha process".
"We remain supportive of the reconciliation process in Afghanistan and want an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned mechanism to be in place enabling all Afghan groups to decide about their future," the official said.
When the Taliban opened their office in Doha on June 18, it was hailed as a first step towards a potential peace deal, but a furious Karzai slammed it as an unofficial embassy for a government-in-exile.
The Taliban said earlier this month that it had temporarily closed the office in Qatar, blaming "broken promises" by the Afghan government and the United States.
Karzai's chief of staff Karim Khorram claimed on Thursday that "the opening of the Qatar office, the way it happened was a plot and Afghanistan foiled that plot and this plot was aimed at splitting or breaking up Afghanistan".
Aziz told reporters in Islamabad he hoped a row over the naming of the office and its use of a flag would be resolved.
Analyst and author Imtiaz Gul said Karzai's rhetoric against Pakistan was an effort by the president to change the perception of him as a US puppet as he prepares to leave office ahead of elections next year.
"This visit basically aims to smoothen the relationship as well as prepare reciprocal visits by Sharif and Karzai," Gul told AFP.
"Pakistan looks very uncomfortable at the moment with what seems to be a erratic and desperate Karzai."
COMMENTS (8)
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If their is a will for peace I am shore their is away for peace .We must work as one united region and share good and bad all we need is a peace table talk not by spy agents but by people and their elected leaders . In peace matters let us not talk of hate but a way to join and share with each other . Our region a lands of many splendors and opportunities, a unique blend of history and culture for the East and West , The cradle of an ancient civilization which developed around the Indus valley with one of the highest peaks of the world in the north & vast plains in the south Afghanistan & Pakistan Geo Strategic Location With China Tajiikstan, Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Kyrgyzstan , India Nepal Russia U.A E .Iran ,and others Asia is big for trade we dont need Aid but Trade Nor we need Weapons we need Infrastructure with Energy Power And Agriculture and all other people needs
@waheed ghilzai: "Fast forward 1947 the coward Hindus Muslims were able to carve a piece of India and build a shaky new Islamic Hindu nation where all those converted cowards live now" How can "coward Hindus Muslims" are "able to carve a piece of India " with all the brave Hindus being present in South Asia? Your logic is twisted. And, your speech is full of hate, that is why you do not make much sense. If Pakistan destructs, India shall follow. You do not realize that India is together, partly because of fear of Pakistan. If Pakistan is gone, India would be again subject to Afghan invasions and given the many fissiparous movements, India shall splinter. During the last five thousand years of South Asia, India has been united, rather together, as one state for only a few centuries. History might repeat itself. Pakistan's existence is in India's own interest but only the enlightened can realize this.
I wish ET moderators would disallow hate speech.
@ ET: "the coward Hindus Muslims " I wonder how you could allow such insults against such a vast community. You would never allow such insults for followers of other religions. Be just and even handed.
Sultan Mahmood slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocent Indians yet many brave Hindus accepted a horrid death than becoming a salve and converting to Islam! There were millions of coward and weak ones that trembled and became salves of Afghan conquerers and converted to Islam. Fast forward 1947 the coward Hindus Muslims were able to carve a piece of India and build a shaky new Islamic Hindu nation where all those converted cowards live now. They called it Pakistan, suddenly they were not Hindu by naming their new nation Pakistan, as if magic, boom they are suddenly different and clean and unique. Since 1947 this Hindu muslims have used what comes to them naturally ( cowardly sub human gene from the past) deceit, lies, cowardly and unmanly traits to its fullest. They have now championed the art of low cast behavior to its zenith! This Hyena like people think that they will get away by biting the masters hand! Good luck, Pakistan thinks it will unleash the Taliban on to Afghans and than sit back relax and enjoy a new friendly Afghanistan! Pakistan thinks its got the low gene to out smart Israel and the US!? We shall see! The entire dance that includes such characters as the US, Isreal, India and Europe is not for Afghanistan! This is to eliminate and destroy the double faced Hindu muslims. The moment Taliban are in Afghanistan with the help of the US they will turn their guns on to Pakistan, there is enough hate and fury in an Afghan heart and mind that with all the atomic weapons they will pull Pakistan apart limb by limb! Oh will India help !? Yes they will. Pakistan should know that the Taliban are a strategy designed to self implode Pakistan, Afghanistan will move on as Afghanistan with or without Taliban but Pakistan better watch out with Taliban in power it will be just a Sindh!
@Syed A Mateen, your wish for Afghan & Pashtuns on both sides of Durand to suffer is implemented since last 35 years. Pakistan has been waging & supporting all types of jihads in Afghanistan at the expense of suffering of Pashtuns Afghans. Now with US/UK & Good Taliban on the same page with Pakistan, see which group (Northern or Southern or Eatsern) conqer Kabul for Nawaz Sharif this time.
I don't understand as why Karzai Government does not want to believe that Government of Pakistan is serious and wants to see a peaceful and established neighbor - Afghanistan.
Before pointing fingers towards Pakistan, Hamid Karzia must think twice that he is making allegations against Pakistan as it was the only one country in the world that accommodated millions of Afghan Nationals in Pakistan during the Soviet War with Afghanistan.
In my opinion, Pakistan is making another mistake by siding with Afghan Government under the pressure of US government as US forces wants to have a peaceful exit from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Pakistan should leave Afghan Government alone and on its own in which ever condition Afghanistan presently is and let the Afghan Government suffer the consequences due to its negative thinking about Pakistan.
Tariq Fatmi in China Aziz in Kabul
This means no clear foreign policy.