Afghan President Likely To Arrive In Pakistan

Burhanuddin Rabbani, the President of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, is likely to arrive in Pakistan on Thursday to meet President Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, the Frontier Post said referring to governmental sources. However, Islamabad's officials are still keeping silence. Pakistan has no diplomatic relations with the Northern Alliance and does not acknowledge Rabbani's government. But Aziz Ahmed Khan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, confirmed that Rabbani who visited Dubai met some Pakistani representatives there without giving their names. Islamabad is ready to receive Rabbani and to hold talks with him, Khan added. On Thursday Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi will visit Islamabad. Political observers associate his arrival with Rabbani's possible visit. Rabbani's arrival is rather likely due to Tehran's and Islamabad's agreement that a future Afghan government will be multi-ethnic and widely-representative which implies the adequate participation of the Pashtoons and probably a part of "moderate Talibs," the Frontier Post said.