Jaipur:
Pakistan's Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf flew in with about 50 people for a private visit this morning and is meeting External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid over lunch. Mr Ashraf is on a day-long private visit to India. New Delhi has said no "substantive discussions" are expected in Jaipur.
After lunch, which shall be traditional Rajasthani fare at the Rambhagh Palace hotel, Mr Ashraf's entourage is scheduled to fly the short distance to Ajmer in three helicopters; he will offer prayers at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
Security is tight in Ajmer, where several groups of people are protesting against the Pakistani PMs visit. He is also expected to face a symbolic boycott at the dargah. The spiritual head of the sufi shrine there has said he will not assist him in prayers as a mark of protest over the mutilation of the bodies of two Indian soldiers in January.
Local lawyers have said they will greet the visitor with black flags and the Ajmer Dargah market association will also join the protest.
In January this year, Pakistani troops mutilated the bodies of two Indian soldiers near Jammu. One of the soldiers was found with his head missing. Pakistan has denied that its troops attacked the men or mangled their bodies. Bilateral ties between the two countries have been strained since the incident.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Parliament on Friday that there cannot be normalisation of ties with Pakistan unless "the terror machine still active there was brought under control."
The BJP has questioned why the Indian government was going out of way to interact with the Pakistani leader. The government however insisted that it was only following basic protocol.
"In accordance with normal diplomatic protocol we are extending him due courtesies," a spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said while giving details of the Pakistan Prime Minister's trip.
While the Indian government has defended the "courtesy" extended to Mr Ashraf, the Pakistan Prime Minister is likely to face a boycott and also protests in Ajmer.