Zardari’s promised donation triggers dispute at Ajmer shrine

The hefty donation promised by President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to the shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer has sprouted a dispute between two groups handling the management of the shrine, according to a report by BBC Urdu.
The report said that both the organizations were claiming entitlement to receive the Rs 50 million donation, which is still being processed by the Pakistani authorities. Zardari had promised the donation for the upkeep of the shrine. He visited the shrine following a luncheon meeting with Indian premier Manmohan Singh.
A few days ago, a senior official of the Pakistani High Commission in India visited Ajmer to resolve the dispute and met with the management. The meeting, however, did not yield any outcome and the matter remained unsettled. The official, Abrar Ahmed, met with the officials of the shrine committee and the association representing the servants, and indicated that the amount would be given at a ceremony on August 18.
Hassam Uddin, president of the Syed Zadgan Association, said that traditionally all the grants come to the organization, and that if their rights were violated, the association would reconsider its participation in the ceremony.
But the Shrine Committee’s head Sohail Khan said that his committee was entitled to receive the donation, and that the Supreme Court supported their stance. Khan stated that he had forwarded a copy of the act and the Supreme Court’s verdict to the Pakistani High Commission. He further said that his committee had forwarded the projects they had planned for the shrine’s facelift.