Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf arrived in Jaipur, Rajasthan on Saturday afternoon amid protests from lawyers and Ajmer Dargah Market Association, with the president of the Ajmer Bar Association going to the extent of alleging that the land the PM passes through will turn 'unholy.'
The associations are protesting the visit of the Pakistani PM to India in view of the brutal killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistani army in which one of them was beheaded.
Raja Pervez Ashraf is on a day-long private visit to India to offer prayers at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer. The PM, who is accompanied by a 50-member delegation, will reach Ajmer by helicopter before setting off for Dargah by road amid tight security.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is hosting a lunch for Ashraf.
However, protests by the local people could mar the Pakistani PM's pilgrimage. It was reported that shops in Dargah will remain shut on Saturday to protest the visit of the Ashraf.
A representative of Ajmer Bar Association, Rajesh Tandon, said that roads from where Ashraf's cavalcade will pass will be washed by water after his departure, as his passage will make the land "unholy", reported PTI.
Dargah Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Ali Khan, the spiritual head of the shrine, said on Friday that he would boycott the visit of the Pakistani PM to protest the recent brutal killing of two Indian soldiers and continous atrocities being metted against the minorities in Pakistan. He said that beheading is against international, Islamic teachings and human values.
"Pakistan is an Islamic republic, but it is sad that they are not following Islamic teachings that tell us to love and remain at peace with neighbours," The Times of India quoted him as as saying.
Traditionally, the Dargah Dewan welcomes when the head of a nation pays visit to the shrine.
Meanwhile, the Khadim community said that they will welcome the PM despite Dargah Deewan's boycott, as the shrine is open to people from all walks of life irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
