Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Ajmer to participate in Urs at dargah

89 Pakistani pilgrims arrive in Ajmer for Urs at Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti dargah with tight security and warm welcome.

A group of 89 pilgrims from Pakistan arrived in Ajmer early on Tuesday (January 7, 2025) to participate in the ongoing 813th Urs at the dargah of Sufi mystic Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Strict security arrangements were made for the pilgrims, who were taken to the Government Central Girls’ Senior Secondary School at Purani Mandi in the city for the stay.

The pilgrims, accompanied by two officers of the Pakistan High Commission, travelled to Ajmer by train from New Delhi after crossing the India-Pakistan border at Attari. They will offer a ceremonial chadar (sheet of cloth) at the historic 13th century shrine and are likely to stay in Ajmer till January 10.

The pilgrims were greeted with warmth and devotion on their arrival at the Ajmer railway station. Many of them raised their hands in supplication, while some members of the group sang devotional songs, as they were escorted in the special buses to the temporary camp at the school.

Ajmer Superintendent of Police Vandita Rana said more than 200 police personnel had been deployed on the route from the school to the dargah for ensuring a safe movement of pilgrims from the neighbouring country. Besides, door frame metal detectors were installed and armed security personnel were deployed at the school’s entrance and roof.

The police will maintain an online record of the pilgrims leaving the camp. This year’s delegation from Pakistan is relatively smaller in size in comparison with the previous years and it arrived in Ajmer a day later than originally scheduled.

The pilgrims from India and Pakistan visit the religious sites in each other’s country in accordance with a bilateral agreement – the Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974 – which was established to promote cross-border religious pilgrimages and cultural understanding. The pilgrims are given the visitor category visas.

Meanwhile, two chadars were offered at the dargah on behalf of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Tuesday. The Congress’ minorities department chairperson Imran Pratapgarhi brought Mr. Kharge’s chadar from New Delhi, while Mr. Sharma’s chadar was taken to the mausoleum from Jaipur by BJP minority morcha’s State president Hamid Khan Mewati.