Railways to ferry Pakistani pilgrims to Ajmer Sharif

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) The Indian Railways will ferry, for a fee, Pakistani pilgrims from Atari border to Ajmer Sharif Dargah for the Urs fair-2020, official sources said on Tuesday.According to the Railway Ministry sources related to the development, the national transporter will run a train to ferry the pilgrims to Ajmer Sharif for the annual ceremony. The transportation of pilgrims is part of the bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan, which has been going on for years, a source said, adding that to ferry the pilgrims, the railways either runs a special run or attaches extra coaches in the train already running on the route. The railways will charge, on a commercial basis, the Pakistani passengers to avail its services, the source said, stressing that the railways will ferry only such pilgrims who are travelling with proper visa and other documents. The annual "Urs" festival commemorates the death anniversary of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, founder of the Chishtiya Sufi order in India. It is observed for six days in the Islamic month of Rajab and features night-long qawwali singing.This year, the first of Rajab will be on the night of February 25-26, and 6th Rajab will be held on March 1-2.
--IANS aks/vd