Islamabad:
President Asif Ali Zardari's "private spiritual journey" to India ended with "a tame nudge" from the hosts who asked him to "work more to win their love," Pakistani media said today about his short trip to Delhi and Ajmer.
Photographs of Mr Zardari shaking hands with the Indian Prime Minister were on the front pages of most Pakistani papers.
The Dawn said the President "enjoyed a sumptuous lunch... with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before offering prayers at the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, but his day-long officially 'private' visit to India ended with a tame nudge from the hosts who effectively asked him...to work more to win their love."
Mr Zardari had lunch with the Prime Minister during a quick stopover in Delhi during what was described as a "private visit" to the country. Mr Zardari and his 23-year-old son, Bilawal, then visited the Ajmer
dargah. In 2005, Bilawal's mother and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, had visited the
dargah with Mr Zardari.
The Express Tribune said in its report that Dr Singh had accepted Mr Zardari's invitation to visit Pakistan while stressing that for any real progress in relations, Pakistan must take action against terrorists like Hafiz Saeed, the man India holds responsible for the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Mr Saeed is the head of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
"Under JuD's shadow, Singh accepts Pakistan invitation," read the headline in
The Express Tribune. The same paper in its editorial praised the PPP-led government for the "way it has repaired relations from the nadir of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, when war seemed a very realistic possibility."
It said, "Rather than try to be overly ambitious, the government has cautiously taken small steps towards lasting peace, with trade and regular high-level meetings inching the process forward."
The News, in an editorial titled "A 'private' visit," noted that this was the first visit by a Pakistani head of state to India in seven years and said it was not easy to arrange meetings between the two countries, whose leaders usually hold talks on the margins of international diplomatic events.
"This visit, although it was not explicitly stated, was about consolidating the confidence-building measures that have been cautiously embarked upon by the business communities of both states in the last year," the editorial said, referring to Pakistan's plans to give India Most Favoured Nation-status by next year.
The News and Pakistan Today, in their editorials, noted the criticism within Pakistan of the expenses on the visit by Zardari, who was accompanied by a sizeable entourage that included his son and Pakistan People's Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who does not enjoy any state position. The size of the Presidential delegation and the cost of transporting it had led some to question whether the visit was really a "private" one, the dailies said.