Hina prays for Indo-Pak peace at Delhi dargah

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday paid obeisance at the dargah of famous Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya at New Delhi and prayed for peace between the two countries.

Wrapping up her three-day official visit, Khar, along with Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and other members of the delegation, spent over 30 minutes at the dargah in Nizamuddin in south Delhi.

Dressed in a salwar kameez, the 34-year-old foreign minister was accorded a traditional welcome by the office bearers of the dargah and was taken to Amir Khusro's grave where she offered a chaadar.

Khar, who arrived in India on Tuesday for talks with her counterpart S M Krishna, spent a few minutes there before proceeding to the shrine of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya.

Since women are not allowed inside the shrine, she touched the chaadar with her hand and gave it to other members of the delegation and office bearers, who went inside and placed it.

Khar, the youngest Pakistani foreign minister, then offered prayers at the mosque adjoining the dargah, where the priests asked her to pray for "peace between India and Pakistan."

"She prayed for peace between India and Pakistan and also for improvement of ties between the two countries. She was taken around the dargah by our nizamis and finally she also offered namaaz," said Diwan Syed Tahir Nizami, one of the office bearers of the dargah.

He said they also prayed that Khar's visit should be successful and "there should only be love" between the people of India and Pakistan.

At the mosque, Khar offered namaaz and was presented with a photograph of the Nizamuddin basti by the dargah authorities.

Nizami said prayers were also held for Khar's "successful tenure" as foreign minister of Pakistan and for her future.

"Whoever comes to the dargah, they come with a prayer. They say their prayer in their mind. For Khar, we prayed for her successful tenure as foreign minister and also for her future," he said.

Media personnel were not allowed inside the mosque and people jostled with each other to get a glimpse of Khar.