Fulfilling his long-cherished desire, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] paid obeisance at the dargah of famous Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti and prayed for improvement in Indo-Pak relations and peace between the two countries.

Kicking off his three-day visit to India on Saturday, Musharraf, who could not visit the dargah in 2001 following the breakdown of the Agra [Images] Summit, along with his wife Begum Sehba and other members of the delegation spent nearly 25 minutes at the sanctum sanctorum of the dargah.

"I have brought a message of peace and friendship from Pakistan," the 61-year-old president, clad in white kurta and salwar with a red turban tied on his head, said emerging from the prayers.

"It was a moment of honour for me and my wife and other members of the delegation to pay our homage at the dargah for the first time.

Photograph: RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images