‘Do not have words to describe happiness’b

For Bilawal,the visit to the shrine,which his mother visited several times,was far more emotional. Zeeshan Kaptan,who toured the shrine with Bilawal said the family presented him a memento from his mother’s 2003 visit when she had prayed that Zardari,who was in jail in Pakistan,be released.

“We gave him a copy of what his mother wrote in 2003 as well as a photograph of her visit. It was an emotional moment when he read what his mother wrote. After offering prayers and when he was about to leave,we asked him how this visit felt and he only said,sukoon mila (I felt at peace),” Zeeshan told The Indian Express.

The Pakistani delegation spent close to 20 minutes inside the Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty dargah during which Zardari offered a specially-made 42 square metre chaddar as well as floral offerings. Bilawal offered a chaddar of his own.

The usually crowded dargah was a virtual fortress well before Zardari’s helicopter even left Jaipur,some 150 km away. For security precautions,the entire market surrounding the dargah was emptied two hours before his visit,while the dargah itself was cleared of all devotees. Security personnel included close to 2,000 police officials as well as rapid response teams and counter-terrorism units. A special mock drill was also conducted on Saturday.