Baghdad ( CNN ) -- Iraq 's vice president arrived in Qatar Sunday to meet with leaders of the Gulf nation , despite an Iraqi government order banning him from international travel . The visit of Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi , who has been living in Kurdistan since Iraqi authorities issued an arrest warrant for him on terrorism charges , drew sharp criticism from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki . Arab countries should not host the wanted vice president , al-Maliki said , according to al-Iraqiya state television . Iraq 's Shiite , Sunni and Kurdish political leaders have squared off over an arrest warrant issued last year for the Sunni vice president , who has denied the charged and called them `` politically motivated . '' The Iraqi Interior Ministry has said al-Hashimi is banned from leaving the country . And Al-Maliki has demanded that Kurdish lawmakers hand over al-Hashimi , who refuses to return to Baghdad from northern Iraq . In an interview with CNN in January , al-Hashimi accused al-Maliki -- a Shiite -- of pushing the country toward a deep sectarian divide . On his trip to Qatar , al-Hashimi was scheduled to meet with Qatar 's prime minister and emir `` based on an invitation he had received earlier , '' a statement from his office said . `` The visit is expected to last a few days , and after that , the vice president will travel to other countries that will be announced later , '' the statement said . `` Following the visits , the vice president will return to his place of residence in Iraqi Kurdistan Region . '' The vice president 's trip comes several days after Qatar 's foreign minister said his country had sent a low-ranking representative to last week 's Arab League summit in Baghdad in order to send a message over `` factionalism in Iraq , '' the state-run Qatar News Agency reported . In February , Iraq 's top judicial committee accused al-Hashimi 's security detail of carrying out 150 attacks against security forces and civilians between 2005 and 2011 . Al-Hashimi said the nine-judge council was under the control of the Shiite-dominated central government and the allegations were `` politically motivated . '' The charges against al-Hashimi appear to be based on the purported confessions of three men , identified as the vice president 's security guards . Iraqi state-run TV aired video of the men 's confessions in December . CNN has not been able to verify their identities independently . CNN '' s Mohammed Tawfeeq and Saaed Abedine contributed to this report .
The Iraqi vice president is scheduled to meet with top Qatari leaders . A senior U.S. official said the meeting will be "productive" and that it could lead to a broader discussion of regional security issues. Iraq 's prime minister says no Arab countries should host the wanted vice president . Al-Hashimi 's office says he will visit other countries , then return to Kurdistan .