New Delhi:
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is back in Pakistan after offering prayers at Ajmer; also, he promised, prayers for Indo-Pak peace. In Delhi, on the way to Ajmer, Mr Zardari's private visit resulted in a diplomatic "yes" from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to an invitation to visit Pakistan.
Dr Singh said he would be "happy to visit Pakistan at a mutually convenient time." Sources said an appropriate date for that visit would be decided upon, but Dr Singh wants issues like Sir Creek and visa restrictions resolved first.
The sources said that at a meeting before lunch at Dr Singh's 7 Race Course Road residence, both leaders agreed that the issue of Sir Creek could be solved soon. The two countries have been close to a solution for years on the disputed 96-km creek that opens into the Arabian Sea and divides Kutch in India's Gujarat and Sindh province in Pakistan.
At the one-on-one 40-minute meeting, the PM also brought up terror as a major issue and Hafiz Saeed, and told Pakistan that it was imperative to bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attack to justice. Mr Zardari said the matter of Hafiz Saeed, seen as the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in 2008, needed to be discussed at length between the two sides, the Indian foreign office said. It was also mentioned that the Home Secretaries of the two countries would meet soon and discuss the issue of Saeed, who roams a free man in Pakistan. India says it has given Pakistan enough evidence to prosecute Saeed, who now has a 10-million-dollar US bounty on him too. Pakistan still says it needs "concrete evidence" against the founder of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba; it has also said recently that Saeed is its "internal matter."
Mr Zardari raised the issues of Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek at the meeting, which was followed by lunch with a host of dignitaries. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was not present at Dr Singh's Sunday lunch - she sent a regret letter.
Dr Singh and Mr Zardari made short statements after their meeting. Dr Singh said they had "constructive talks," and the two sides were "willing to find practical, pragmatic solutions on all issues." He said it was a "common wish that ties should normalise between the two countries." Many issues were discussed and he was satisfied with the outcome, he said. (
Highlights of PM, Zardari's statements |
Full text)
Mr Zardari thanked his host, said Pakistan would like to have better relations with India and said he hoped to meet Dr Singh soon on Pakistani soil. Both sides agreed they should tap into the trade potential and the signing soon of a liberalised visa agreement was discussed. Mr Zardari is on a private visit to the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah at Ajmer and Delhi is a diplomatic stopover.
On the sidelines of lunch, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik and India's Home Minister P Chidambaram held an unscheduled, informal meeting. Mr Malik described it as "a very fruitful visit with good meetings...The visit will be a milestone for greater understanding." The foreign secretaries of the two countries also met.
Mr Malik was part of 40 people who flew into Delhi with Mr Zardari on his grey Pakistan Airforce plane around noon. Also with Mr Zardari was his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bhutto, 23, and 13 other family members. They were received at the airport by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Bilawal tweeted, "AOA India Peace be with you. I have just landed in Delhi. 1st ever visit."
Bilawal has also reportedly invited Rahul Gandhi to visit Pakistan. The two were seated next to each other at a lunch hosted at by the PM. Mr Gandhi is said to have accepted the invite. (
Who is Bilawal Bhutto Zardari?)
Present at lunch were senior ministers AK Antony, SM Krishna and P Chidambaram, BJP leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. The meeting that seemed to have created the most buzz was the GenNext coming together of Mr Zardari's 23-year-old son Bilawal and Rahul Gandhi. After lunch Bilawal tweeted, "Prez n I enjoyed Lunch with #Rahul #Gandhi and #PMSingh. lovely meal. much to learn from each other." And Sushma Swaraj tweeted, "Towards the end of lunch, Prime Minister told President Zardari that...since he was going to Ajmer sharief, he should pray before Khwaja sahib for peace in both our countries...President Zardari promised to do that."
Mr Zardari's entourage left Delhi after lunch and took a chopper to reach Ajmer soon after 4 pm. From the Ajmer helipad, he was driven 12.3 km to the Dargah, which he visited after seven years.
Mr Zardari spent around 20 minutes at the Dargah, where he offered flowers and chadar. (
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"The soulful happiness that I have experienced at this holy place is beyond explanation. I pray to Allah to make life easy for the entire humanity," Mr Zardari wrote in a diary at the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Dargah.
The Dargah was closed to all other visitors during that time. About 1,500 policemen were posted in and around the Dargah; the security arrangements included rapid response teams and counter-terrorism units.
Mr Zardari last visited Ajmer in 2005 with his wife Benazir Bhutto. She had visited the Dargah in 2003 and prayed to Garib Nawaz for the release of her husband; Mr Zardari was in prison then. Once he was released, both visited the shrine two years later. (
Watch: When Zardari visited Ajmer dargah with Benazir Bhutto in 2005) | (
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As he headed to Delhi, Mr Zardari faced criticism from back home for going ahead with his India visit despite an avalanche in Siachen burying over 120 Pakistani soldiers. Yesterday, up to 135 people, mostly Pakistani soldiers, were buried after the avalanche hit a Pakistan army camp in the mountainous Siachen area, known as the world's highest battleground. No survivors have been found even after a huge all-day search involving more than 150 soldiers, sniffer dogs, and helicopters. Pakistanis tweeted, "How can #Zardari visit #India when a great tragedy has just struck#Pakistan? We've lost 120+ of our brave men" and "#Zardari did the same when the floods struck. No respect for national tragedies. Hopeless dictator - self claimed."
During his talks with President Asif Ali Zardari today, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh offered humanitarian assistance to help find survivors. Mr Zardari thanked Dr Singh for his offer and said he would check and if there was any requirement.
Mr Zardari and Dr Singh met today after almost three years - they last met in Yekaterinburg Russia in 2009. Though there was no structured agenda for talks, apart from issues like trade and easing of the visa regulations and power, the Indian PM was expected to, as he did, raise concern on terrorism and Hafiz Saeed, who now has a 10-million-dollar bounty on his head, announced by the US last week.
Ahead of his visit President Zardari said he did not expect the issue of Hafiz Saeed to be the focus of his meeting with Dr Singh. "My stance on Saeed is not different from that of my government. My visit to India is of a religious nature and I do not think Manmohan Singh will make me sit (and discuss only) this issue," Mr Zardari had said in Lahore yesterday. India wants Saeed, who is a free man in Pakistan, arrested and prosecuted for his role in the Mumbai attacks of 2008. Pakistan has repeatedly said it needs more evidence, which India insists it has handed over. Mr Zardari met his Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the issue of Saeed before he left for India.
Since their last meeting in 2009, both Dr Singh and Mr Zardari have been bogged down by their own internal crises, but have quietly pushed the bilateral dialogue forward, with the prime ministers of both countries meeting. The India-Pakistan dialogue is back on track, especially with positive moves on trade and officials said the lunch meeting would be a chance for the President and the PM to touch base and review where things stand. Since today's was not a formal meeting, diplomats said it gave them more room to informally discuss the road ahead and pave the way for that visit by the PM to Pakistan.