New Pakistani PM Accepts Invitation To Visit Afghanistan

New Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrives to inspect an honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on June 5.

Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has accepted an invitation to visit neighboring Afghanistan.

A statement issued by Sharif’s media office said the prime minister spoke by telephone on June 6 with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who congratulated Sharif on his election and invited him to visit Kabul.

The statement didn’t mention any date for the visit.

Sharif was sworn in for an unprecedented third term as prime minister of Pakistan on June 5.

His party secured a clear parliamentary majority after Pakistan's May 11 general elections.

In the past, Karzai has repeatedly accused Islamabad of supporting insurgents who carry out attacks in Afghanistan.

Tensions escalated between Kabul and Islamabad last month after their troops clashed at a disputed border post and an Afghan policeman was killed in a skirmish on the Afghan-Pakistani frontier.