ISLAMABAD: Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, is due in the capital on Monday on a three-day visit.

He will be accompanied by a 17-member delegation, which includes five ministers.

It will be President Abbas’s third visit to Pakistan. His earlier trips were in 2005 and 2013.

The Palestinian leader will have one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to be followed by delegation-level talks, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Office on Sunday.

President Abbas and Prime Minister Sharif will jointly inaugurate the Palestine Embassy Complex in the Diplomatic Enclave.

In 1992, the government had gifted a plot for the complex. Islamabad contributed to its construction as well.

Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation will also meet President Mamnoon Hussain. Ties between Pakis­tan and Palestinian people have traditionally been strong.

Pakistan has consistently supported the creation of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders and with Jerusalem as its capital.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2017