Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declines invitation to visit Pakistan

Kabul:Despite repeated attempts by Pakistan to defuse tensions between the two neighbours, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has rejected Pakistan's offer to visit the country until the perpetrators behind several attacks are handed over to Afghanistan, his deputy spokesperson Dawa Khan Mina Pal confirmed .

Ghani's deputy spokesman said the President turned down the invitation during his meetings with Pakistan delegates, reports GeoTV.

"I will not visit Pakistan until the perpetrators behind the attacks on Kandahar, Mazar-e-Sharif and American University in Kabul are handed over to Afghanistan, and action is taken against Afghan Taliban in Pakistan," the spokesman quoted Ghani as saying .

Ghani's denial comes a day after Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar visited Kabul for talks with President Ghani and National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar .

Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have recently resumed bilateral contacts to de-escalate the tensions between the two neighboring countries. The visit of the ISI chief is the third high-profile visit of Pakistani officials to Kabul in a week.

Afghan President Ghani has been accusing neighboring country of maintaining a distinction between "good and bad terrorists", an accusation Islamabad has repeatedly denied.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been assuring the Afghan government that its soil is not being used against Afghanistan and his country supports the democratic process in Afghanistan.

In a counter attack, Islamabad has alleged that attacks in Pakistan are being orchestrated on Afghan soil.