ISLAMABAD — Afghan political leaders warned President Ashraf Ghani not to smile when he reach Islamabad on Wednesday, but he soon found that to be hard going.As the Afghan president stepped off his plane at the airport, he appeared surprised to discover that the greeting party far exceeded the demands of protocol: The Pakistani prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and the country’s military chiefs were on hand, along with many other dignitaries, as an honor guard blasted a 21-gun salute.

It was the sort of welcome normally reserved for visits from prominent Pakistani allies like the president of China or the king of Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Ghani had been under intense pressure not to attend conference, even though he was the co-host, with Pakistan, of the Heart of Asia conference, which was billed as an attempt to promote economic and security cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbors and was expected to include representatives from every other country in South and Central Asia.

The welcome was a clear measure that Pakistan badly wants to mend the relationship.

But in a speech to his hosts shortly later, he again criticized Pakistan for failing to deprive the Taliban of safe havens here.

“We are fighting on behalf of all of you, but we are the ones who are suffering some of the worst atrocities,” Mr. Ghani said.

Some Afghan officials felt their leader had no choice, considering the strong pressure from its allies.

“His attendance despite not seeing any progress from Pakistan suggests that there are pressures from the donor countries in the West and China that he has to answer to,” said Abdul Qayoum Sajjadi, a member of the foreign relations committee of the Afghan Parliament. (Monitoring Desk)