Over 400 Pakistani pilgrims arrives to visit Ajmer Sharif Dargah

A group of 402 Pakistani pilgrims reached here on Saturday to offer prayers at Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the shrine of famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The pilgrims reached the national capital on Friday evening, from where a special train brought them to Ajmer.

Elaborate security arrangements were made at the railway station to receive the pilgrims who will be attending the 805th Urs (death anniversary) of the Sufi saint.

The shrine houses the tomb of the 13th-century Sufi saint, who came to Ajmer from Persia in 1192.

The pilgrims will stay in Ajmer till April 8.

The visiting pilgrims expressed their happiness upon reaching the holy city and hoped that strained relations between India and Pakistan would soon normalise.

Hindus and Sikhs also visit the shrine is seen as a symbol of communal harmony. The faithful walk barefeet, their heads covered, and jostle in long lines as they carry baskets of colourful flowers and cloth to drape on the tomb.

Historically, it was after Mughal emperor Akbar - who undertook a journey on foot from Taj city of Agra to Ajmer during his reign - that the mausoleum emerged as one of the most important pilgrimage centres in India.

Pakistani leaders Pervez Musharraf, Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq and Benazir Bhutto have all visited the shrine during state visits to India.