Afghan president expected to seek neighbour's help in reviving negotiations with Taliban during one-day visit, SIA reports citing Aljazeera.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has arrived in Islamabad for talks with the Pakistani officials on restarting peace process with the Taliban.
It will be Karzai's first meeting with Nawaz Sharif, who took office as Pakistani prime minister after winning elections in June.
Karzai is being accompanied by Zalmay Rasul, the Afghan foreign minister, and Salahuddin Rabbani, head of the Afghan High Peace Council, among other senior government officials.
Afghan President's visit comes after an attempt to start peace talks with Taliban in the Qatari capital of Doha plunged in June.
Karzai can extend his one day visit if the talks with Pakistani officials go well.
Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad on Monday, said no one expected any major breakthrough but the talks were important because of growing tensions between the two neighbours.
"Behind the scenes the US, and the UN have been persuading Karzai to visit Pakistan," he said.
Before leaving for Pakistan, Karzai said the "first item with Pakistan will be peace negotiations".
He will also likely to repeat his demand that Pakistan release all Afghan prisoners from its jails.
Afghan government has called for the release of the most senior Taliban figure detained in Pakistan, former deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Pakistan released 26 Taliban prisoners last year, including the insurgent group’s former justice minister Nooruddin Turabi.
Taliban have refused to negotiate with the Afghan government so far, accusing them of being a puppet of the US.
Taliban safe havens in Pakistan which has strong historical ties with the insurgent group are seen as the main reason of increased violence by Afghan government.
Some elements of Pakistan's intelligence service have long been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban and giving its fighters refuge on Pakistani territory, a claim denied strongly by Pakistan.
Relations between Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had appeared to improve at a summit hosted by Britain in February,but have since tattered badly in a series of public rows.
Last month, Karzai's chief of staff Karim Khorram claimed that opening a Taliban office in Doha was part of a conspiracy to break up Afghanistan, coordinated by either Pakistan or the US.
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