Pakistan president in India for one day visit

The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, has arrived in India for the first visit by a Pakistani head of state for seven years.

Zardari will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, before travelling to an important Muslim shrine in Rajasthan.

Officials say the trip is a private visit, but there is hope it could boost economic ties between the two nations.

However correspondents say little progress is expected on other issues.

Officials say Zardari is coming for private religious reasons - to visit the shrine of Sufi saint Moinudin Chishti in Ajmer, 350 kilometres southwest of Delhi.

The president landed in Delhi, and was due to meet Singh at his residence before flying south to Ajmer and then returning to Islamabad in the evening.

He is reported to be travelling with at least 25 members of his family, including his son and political heir Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Trade is one area of discussion that the two leaders may find fruitful as Pakistan moves to normalise trade ties by phasing out major restrictions on Indian imports by the end of the year.

In 1996, India granted Pakistan "most preferred nation" trading status, while Pakistan last year agreed in principle to match the move.

The last Pakistan president to visit India was Pervez Musharraf, who also offered prayers at the shrine of Sufi saint Moinudin Chishti in Ajmer.

The shrine is one of South Asia's most popular pilgrimage sites, attracting throngs of devotees from across the globe.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947 and also carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998.

The two countries came to the brink of conflict most recently in 2001, and tensions again peaked after the Mumbai attacks during which 166 people died in carnage blamed on the Pakistani armed group Lashkar-e-Taiba.