Pakistani President Asif Zardari arrived in India on Sunday for a one-day visit aimed at improving relations between the rival neighbors.

Pakistani President Asif Zardari arrived in India on Sunday for a one-day visit aimed at improving relations between the rival neighbors.

Zardari with Singh

During a visit billed as "private" but of great diplomatic significance, Zardari will lunch with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before heading to a Muslim shrine 350 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.

It’s the first visit by Pakistani head of state since 2005. Tensions between the two rivals have risen since 2008 when Delhi pressed its neighbour to prosecute the alleged perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, blamed on the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was founded by Hafiz Saeed.

Saeed lives openly in Pakistan, where the government says it has insufficient evidence to prosecute him.

"My stance on Saeed is not different from my government," Zardari told reporters on Saturday in Lahore ahead of his trip, the first by a Pakistani president since Pervez Musharraf visited seven years ago.
"My visit to India is of a religious nature and I do not think Manmohan Singh will make me sit (and discuss) only this issue," he added.

The meeting between Zardari and Singh over a lunch is seen as a positive step to improve fragile ties which are rived with mistrust.