About Pakistan President Zardari visit India

by Nksagar | April 7, 2012 at 11:47 pm

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Naresh Kumar Sagar New Delhi India : 8 April 2012 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari along with his son Bilwal Bhutto Zardari the Chairman of the ruling Peoples Party of Pakistan PPP along with the delegation to embarks a day-long trip to India today to visit Ajmer and to attend a luncheon being hosted in his honour by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

(live-PR.com) Rest of the story here - This is the first ever visit of President Zardari to India as President of Pakistan, to provide a chance to promote bilateral relations between the two countries.According to a Pak Foreign Office spokesman, the president will travel to the city of Ajmer to pay homage at the Dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti a renowned sufi saint.

Zardari will leave for Ajmer Shareef on Sunday for ‘Ziarat’ and to offer prayers at the shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and will return the same day,” said the spokesman.
Further spokesman said the president has also accepted a luncheon invitation of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi en route to Ajmer Shareef.He said that the President’s delegation to New Delhi would consist of Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani and his personal,plus security staff.

President Zardari will be the first Pakistani head of state to visit India in seven years after the visit of President Pervez Musharraf in 2005.“Although the visit is private, but the two leaders will discuss all the issues and it will contribute towards achieving the President’s vision to promote intra-regional peace and prosperity in this part of the world,” said the spokesman.
He said, “We are looking forward for a constructive engagement between the two leaders in New Delhi.”The spokesman said, “Obviously during the lunch the issues, which continue to take priority in our bilateral relations, will be discussed.”According to diplomatic sources, important issues between the two countries, including Jammu Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, visa liberalisation, trade, water as well as regional situation, could be discussed at the luncheon meeting , which will pave the way for further enhancing and promoting bilateral relations.
The invitation to the Indian Prime Minister to visit Pakistan will be reiterated in this meeting as it has already been extended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar during her visit to India in July 2011.Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani also extended the invitation to his Indian counterpart to visit Pakistan during the SAARC summit in Maldives in November 2011 and their meeting in Seoul in March.

Pakistan president and his delegation is under the cover of Top level security.India will provide highest level of security to the delegation of President Asif Ali Zardari during their one-day pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif.Government sources said advance liaison team from Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) arrived in Delhi on Friday to tie up security and logistics for Zardari’s trip and had day-long meetings with their counterparts from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

As Zardari is expected to reach Ajmer around 5pm, he may offer “Asr” namaz at the holy shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti. He will fly out from Jaipur the same day.At the lunch hosted by Manmohan Singh, Indian ministers, National Security Advisor and foreign secretary will be present. Media speculates on home minister P Chidambaram to be present to meet Rehman Malik as he goes to his constituency Sivaganga on every weekend.

Bilawal,aged 24 who took over as PPP Chairman when he was 19, following the death of his mother Benazir Bhtto in 2007, figures in the guest list for the lunch hosted by Mr Manmohan Singh at his Race Course Road residence.Media sources said Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi may also be at the lunch and the two young leaders from India and Pakistan may get to talk.Mr Bilawal appointed Chairman of PPP on December 30, 2007 when he was at Oxford. He returned to Pakistan and became active in politics last year, particularly when Mr Zardari went for medical care to Dubai amid speculation that the President may quit.
Media agencies

More updates

‘I would like to wish the people of India ‘as-salam walekum’:Zardari By sagarmedia on April 8, 2012 | Edit Pakistan President was warmly received by Singh after reaching the Prime Minister’s residence and both the leaders posed for shutterbugs. After landing in New Delhi at 12.10 pm at Palam Air Force Base (technical area) along with his son Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari drove straight to Singh’s official Race Course Road residence. Zardari, who had expressed his desire to come on a private visit to go to Ajmer to pay obeisance at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, was invited by Singh to join him for lunch. The invitation was accepted by Zardari. “I have taken advantage of this visit to discuss with him all bilateral issues and I am very satisfied with the outcome of this visit,” the Prime Minister said while admitting that there were number of issues between the two countries. “We have a number of issues and we are willing to find practical and pragmatic solutions to all those issues and that is the message President Zardari and I would wish to convey,” Singh said. “I would like to wish the people of India ‘as-salam walekum’ from the President of Pakistan. I am grateful to the Prime Minister for inviting me for lunch though I am on a private visit here but we have had some fruitful bilateral talks together,” Zardari said. The Pakistan President, who is on a day-long visit to India, said the two countries are neighbours. “We would like to have better relations with India. We have spoken on all topics that we could have spoken about and we are hoping to meet on Pakistani soil very soon,” he said. There was no structured agenda for the meeting between Singh and Zardari. The two leaders, however, did not mention the specific issues discussed during their meeting

The President landed at Ghugra helipad in Ajmer in a helicopter from Jaipur where a special aircraft carrying him and his delegation brought him from Delhi after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also hosted a lunch for him. The convoy then moved to the Dargah Sharif, 12.3 kms by road from the helipad.

Zardari performed ‘fateha’ (supplication) and went around the premises comprising mosques, graves of the Khwaja’s disciples, a pool and two big cauldrons used for cooking food during the annual Urs. Pervez Musharraf and Zia-ul-Haq were the previous Pakistani Presidents to offer obeisance at the revered shrine.

A one million USD donation(Rs five crore) for the welfare of the shrine was announced on behalf of Zardari by a member of his delegation, according to the Anjuman Committee’s vice president Syed Khalimuddin Chishti.

Clad in a blue shalwar kameez, 56-year-old Zardari, accompanied by his son Bilawal, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and members of his 44-member delegation, stayed inside the Sufi saint’s mausoleum for 20 minutes where he offered a 42-square metre long red ‘chadar’ and floral tributes. Bilawal offered a green chadar. Chadar is a ceremonial cloth inscribed with religious verses.

A chadar was also offered by Union Minister Pawan Bansal on behalf of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Bansal, the minister-in-waiting for Zardari’s visit, prayed for peace and harmony.Zardari said he felt “a great spiritual happiness” after coming to this holy place which was “beyond description.”