Zardari reaches Ajmer to offer prayers, tight security at the dargah

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

After a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has reached Ajmer to offer prayers at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The authorities have made elaborate security arrangements in Ajmer for Zardari's visit.

Residents whose houses face the dargah have been asked to keep their windows shut while the Pakistan president is inside the shrine on Sunday afternoon.

A police official said people residing near the dargah have already been given a list of dos and don'ts.

All the stores catering to pilgrims situated along a one kilometre-long narrow lane leading to the shrine will have to shut shop between 1.30pm and 6pm. Devotees have been barred from visiting the shrine from 2pm to 6pm, except for the khadims or shrine caretakers, who will help Zardari perform prayers.

Vehicular movement around the shrine will also be halted during the half an hour that Zardari is to spend at the dargah.

A senior police official said that over 3,000 policemen have been deployed around the shrine, which is 12 km away from the Ajmer helipad where Zardari will land in a helicopter from Jaipur.

"We have stationed around 80 police personnel inside the dargah, while the same number of police personnel will be deputed at the highrise buildings surrounding it," the official, who declined to give his name, said.

"We have told the people to shut their windows when Zardari is inside the complex," the official said.

The Rajasthan government has deputed six superintendents of police to oversee the deployment of over 3,000 policemen.