Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan has expressed hope that Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s visit to Kabul will open a new chapter in ties between the two countries. 
 
Abbasi is expected to arrive in Kabul on Friday on an official one-day visit following an invitation by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. 

He is expected to hold discussions with Ghani and with CEO Abdullah Abdullah, along with a number of other political leaders. 
 
Afghan government officials have said Afghan leaders will meet with Abbasi and are expected to once again call for honest cooperation by Pakistan to be demonstrated in the fight against terrorism. 
 
Government leaders are also expected to reiterate their call for Pakistan to take practical steps in the fight against terrorism and in getting the Taliban to the peace talks tables, officials said.  
 
“I am very happy to announce on this occasion that the prime minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi will InshaAllah be visiting Kabul on the 6th of April  at the invitation of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and we are very hopeful that this visit would open a new chapter of good-will, friendship and brotherhood between our two brotherly countries,” said Khan. 
 
Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs has said Abbasi will hold discussions with the Afghan leadership on a joint action plan. 
 
According to government officials in Kabul, based on the plan, the two countries will work on aspects of promoting the peace process with the Taliban and joint cooperation in fighting terrorism. 
 
But a number of sources in the Afghan government have said government wants Pakistan’s anti-insurgent campaign to be monitored, something Islamabad says it will do itself.  
 
“Afghanistan-Pakistan’s joint action plan on peace is part of a series of the discussions which we will have with the Pakistani government, we also raised these topics with Pakistan’s military delegation which visited Kabul recently under the leadership of Janjua; unfortunately no breakthrough so far has been witnessed in this respect,” said the CEO’s deputy spokesman Jawed Faisal. 
 
Meanwhile a source told TOLOnews that Ghani is expected to hold a meeting with Afghan politicians and Jihadi leaders ahead of his meeting with Abbasi. 
 
“Until Pakistan’s army cooperates in the peace process in Afghanistan, the civilian government in Pakistan will not be able to give positive response in this respect,” said MP Sayed Ali Kazimi.

The Afghan government so far has not disclosed its list of demands to Pakistan in terms of taking action against the Taliban leadership and the Haqqani network. However in the past Afghanistan handed a list of names of Taliban and Haqqani network leaders to the Pakistani side. 
 
Abbasi’s visit to Kabul comes after Ghani officially extended an invitation to the Pakistan prime minister to visit Kabul for face-to-face talks in order for the two countries to resolve issues and jointly work towards forging peace in the country.