The Afghan president has arrived on his first visit to Pakistan, in an attempt to forge a fresh relationship with Prime Minister Imran Khan's government and reach out to Islamabad for help in getting the Taliban to talk peace with Kabul.

Ashraf Ghani arrived in Islamabad on Thursday, the start of his two-day visit, and was to meet Khan and also President Arif Alvi right away.

The visit comes after dozens of Afghan political leaders attended a peace conference in Pakistan last week to pave the way for further Afghan-to-Afghan dialogue.

Pakistan has facilitated ongoing peace talks between Washington and the Taliban as U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is trying find a negotiated exit to the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have refused to talk directly with Kabul government representatives.