Dear Friends:
This news is from the Telegraph, UK, this morning (92 04 2012) -bhuban Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari to visit India 'soon' President Asif Ali Zardari will visit India's shrine of a famous Sufi Muslim saint soon, the first trip by a Pakistani head of state to the country's arch-enemy since 2005, a spokesman said on Sunday. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Photo: REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin 4:43PM BST 01 Apr 2012 1 Comment It comes at a time of improving relations between the two countries. "The visit has been on the cards for sometime, and initially it was a private visit," said Farhatullah Babar, presidential spokesman. He held out the possibility that it could turn into an official visit. Zardari will travel to the Ajmer Sharif shrine in Rajasthan district, said Babar. The visit will take place "very soon," but exact dates are being worked out, he said. The site is not far from the India-Pakistan border. Pakistan and India have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir, since they both gained independence from Britain in 1947. Relations hit a low point in 2008, when militants killed 166 people in attacks on a hotel and other sites in the Indian city of Mumbai. India blamed the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for carrying out the rampage and has criticised Pakistan for not doing enough to crack down on the group. Pakistan has denied that any state institutions played a role in the attack on Mumbai. Relations have slowly improved over the last year. Pakistani prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh last November on the sidelines of a conference in the Maldives. Pakistan also said last year that it plans to grant India "Most Favored Nation" trading status. Source: AP _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
