Process on to deliver Zardari's donation to Ajmer shrine

New Delhi -  More than three months after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari announced a donation of Rs.5 crore to the Ajmer dargah during his visit to the revered Sufi shrine, the Pakistan high commission Monday clarified that arrangements are being made to fulfill the pledge.

"Arrangements are in hand to make the donation as announced by the president of Pakistan," a spokesperson of the Pakistan high commission said here.

"The High Commission thanks the government of India, the state authorities, and the Dargah committees for their cooperation in this regard," the spokesperson said.

During his day-long visit to India April 8, Zardari, besieged by a host of domestic crises back home, pledged a donation of Rs.5 crore at the revered shrine of sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty when he visited Ajmer for a few hours.

There was some disillusionment among managers of the shrine when the promised money did not reach the dargah even months after such a pledge was made. The high commission's clarification came in the wake of media reports that quoted a dargah committee official as saying that the head of an Islamic state has failed to fulfill his words before this revered shrine.

Zardari had also proposed assistance for some development projects at the shrine by the dargah committee (a government recognized body) and Anjuman Syed Zadgan committee (of hereditary khadims). The proposals included construction of an old-age home, a 100-bed hospital and a new building of Darul Uloom (Islamic seminary).

According to reports, Zardari had asked the Anjuman Syed Zadgan Committee to "get in touch with Pakistan High Commission" for release of the grant.