ISLAMABAD, April 16: Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to arrive here next week on a one-day state visit.

An earlier visit planned for March 23 was called off. Foreign office spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan had said the March visit was postponed through mutual consent due to the situation in Iraq and security concerns. The postponement was also linked to cancellation of the March 23 Pakistan Day Parade at which Mr Karzai was to be the guest of honour.

“President Hamid Karzai will be coming here on April 22 and will leave the next day,” sources close to the presidency told Dawn on Wednesday.

During his visit President Karzai will hold talks with President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali, and meet senior officials, sources said.

President Karzai’s 20-member strong entourage will include the ministers of foreign affairs, interior and reconstruction.

“We hope President Karzai’s visit will further improve relations between the two countries and take them to a new level,” a senior official said, adding that talks would focus on peace and security in Afghanistan.