Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif is visiting Afghanistan for the first time since he took office in May as part of the efforts to revive the Afghan peace process.

Mr. Sharif’s talks with the Afghan President, Mr. Hamid Karzai will focus on how to reopen negotiations with the Afghan Taliban over which Pakistan has some influence.

The visit also comes at a critical time in relations between President Karzai and the United States which have strained over a security pact that would allow American troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014.