ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf left for India on Saturday for a day-long pilgrimage to the shrine of the Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti (RA) in Ajmer Sharif, some 400 kilometres west of New Delhi.
The PM Ashraf’s, accompanied by members of his family and other officials, visit comes around two months after ceasefire violations on the Line of Control that led to heightened tensions between the two neighbours.
Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid is scheduled to host a lunch in Jaipur for Prime Minister Ashraf but no “substantive” discussions are expected to take place.
However, the prime minister is not expected to meet his Indian counterpart who recently accused Pakistan of faltering on its part of the bargain with regard to terrorism.
“Our dialogue with Pakistan continues in order to normalise our relations: promote bilateral cooperation and people-to-people contacts; and resolve outstanding issues,” Manmohan Singh had said.
The PM Ashraf will be the most senior Pakistani official to visit India since last April when President Asif Ali Zardari embarked on a similar pilgrimage and then had lunch with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
DND
