President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas was accorded a red carpet welcome on his arrival on a three-day official visit to Pakistan last night.       

President Abbas, accompanied by a seventeen-member delegation including five Ministers, was warmly received by President Mamnoon Hussain at the Nur Khan Airbase in Islamabad.

Two children attired in traditional dresses presented a bouquet to the Palestinian president.

On the occasion, President Mamnoon Hussain told the Palestinian President that Pakistani people kept the Palestinians close to their hearts and reiterated Pakistan would always raise the Palestine issue at all fora.

The President said Pakistan strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the armed Israeli forces against Palestinians.

President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the sentiments and said he considered Pakistan as his second home.

During the visit, the Palestinian president will have one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif,  followed by delegation-level talks.

The two leaders will jointly inaugurate the newly constructed Palestine Embassy Complex in the Diplomatic Enclave.

President Mahmoud Abbas and his delegation will also meet President Mamnoon Hussain to discuss bilateral political matters as well as other issues of common interest, followed by a state banquet in his honour.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office has said in a statement that Pakistan consistently supports the creation of an independent   Palestinian state, with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

-Radio Pakistan