ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says Afghan President Hamid Karzai will visit the country on Friday. A government statement Wednesday said Karzai was invited by President Asif Ali Zardari and would spend the night in Pakistan.

The two countries have a difficult shared history and are fighting related insurgencies.

The question for many is whether Pakistan can or should try and persuade Afghan Taliban insurgents based on its soil to join peace talks with the government in Kabul and the US-led military coalition supporting it.

The statement said the visit would strengthen ties between the ''two brotherly peoples and countries'' but gave no details.