ISLAMABAD, May 30: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, Lal Kishanchand Advani, arrived on a week-long visit to Pakistan on Monday evening. The BJP is India’s main opposition party. During his stay till June 6, Mr Advani is expected to meet the top Pakistani leadership, including President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will meet Mr Advani on Tuesday morning before leaving for a visit to Turkey, according to an official.

Mr Advani, accompanied by his wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law, is expected to visit Karachi — his birthplace. This is Mr Advani’s second trip to Pakistan. He last visited the country 27 years ago in 1978 when he was information minister in the then government of Morarji Desai.

The Indian opposition leader arrived in Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural capital, on Monday afternoon and proceeded to Islamabad. The 78-year-old BJP leader was received at Allama Iqbal International Airport by the director-general protocol, Punjab, other protocol officials and Indian diplomats.

Mr Advani, without talking to the media, drove straight to the State Guest House and stayed there for over two hours before taking the next flight to the Pakistani capital. — Lahore report