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Pakistan President Zardari visiting India
by sagarmedia on April 8, 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.
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 famous Sufi Muslim saint.
“President
Asif Ali 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 and 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 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
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