New Afghan president arrives in Pakistan on visit aimed at improving ties

Billboards show photographs of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, from right, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain ahead of Ghani's visit, as displayed on the median of a street in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Ghani will make his first state visit in coming days to neighboring Pakistan, long blamed by his predecessor for harboring militants, in hopes of finding a way to revive peace talks with the Taliban. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (The Associated Press)

Afghanistan's flag hoisted before the President House flaps in the wind in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will make his first state visit in coming days to neighboring Pakistan, long blamed by his predecessor for harboring militants, in hopes of finding a way to revive peace talks with the Taliban. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (The Associated Press)

Pakistan's adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, right, greets Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. Ghani makes his first state visit to neighboring Pakistan, long blamed by his predecessor for harboring militants, in hopes of finding a way to revive peace talks with the Taliban. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (The Associated Press)

Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani, has arrived in Pakistan for a two-day visit aimed at improving ties between the two neighbors often encumbered by mutual suspicion and accusations.

Pakistani state-run television says national security adviser Sartaj Aziz received Ghani at the Islamabad airport on Friday.

Ghani is expected to meet his Pakistani counterpart, Mamnoon Hussain, as well as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are key allies of Washington in the war on terror but their relations have witnessed ups and downs in recent years.

Ghani's predecessor, Hamid Karzai, often blamed Pakistan for harboring the Afghan Taliban and other militants accused of attacking NATO forces in Afghanistan. Pakistan has always denied the charge, saying Kabul needed to take more steps to control cross-border attacks.