NEW DELHI: India's arch rival Pakistan's president Asif Zardari will visit India later this week to pray at the mausoleum of a renowned Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Pakistan embassy officials here have described Zardari's visit as “private”, but has also hinted at the possibility that Zardari may have an informal lunch meeting with Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh on April 8. Chisti's dargah at Ajmer, in India's Rajasthan state receives lakhs of devotees annually, most of whom tie a red cloth band to the mausoleum's marble latticed window, as a mark of respect as well as a reminder to the saint of a wish sought for. Zardari is expected to participate in this unique tradition as part of his itinerary as well. The dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti is renowned in India as well as the world amongst Muslims and Hindus for its ‘powers' which brings your wishes to fruition. Meanwhile, the Pakistan media is abuzz about Zardari's obsession with the occult and the superstitious. “A black goat is slaughtered almost daily to ward off `evil eyes` and protect President Asif Ali Zardari from `black magic`,” says Pakistan's leading newspaper Dawn. “It has been an old practice of Zardari to offer Sadqa (animal sacrifice). He has been doing this for a long time,” the newspaper quoted the Pakistan president's spokesman Farhatullah Babar as saying.
