Musharraf, accompanied by his wife Sheba and the foreign, commerce and information ministers, flew to Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan state, from Islamabad. From there he went to the holy city of Ajmer and offered prayers at the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

The military strongman offered a 'chadar' or a piece of cloth to lay over the tomb of the Sufi saint. The shrine authorities also presented him with flowers and two 'chadars' to be handed over to two major Sufi shrines in Pakistan.

After the visit to Ajmer Sharif, Musharraf, flanked by his wife and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Information Minister Sheikh Rashid, told reporters he had prayed for peace between India and Pakistan and resolution of differences between them.

He also said he had prayed for progress in the two neighbouring countries, adding that progress can be achieved only if there is peace between them. "I hope my prayers are accepted," Musharraf said.

His visit to the shrine assumed significance as he could not make it during his last visit to India four years ago following the breakdown of his summit meeting with then Indian premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Agra.

The Pakistani president yesterday pointed out himself before his departure for India that the atmosphere between India and Pakistan is much different from the Agra summit as "it is conducive and friendly."

India, for its part, has unveiled a set of new confidence-building measures, which proposes more bus links between the two countries, setting up points across the divided Kashmir where relatives on both sides of the Line of Control can meet and promotion of cross-border trade in the region.

Other confidence-building steps include promotion of cross-border cultural interaction, joint promotion of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, bilateral cooperation in environment and forestry, and mechanism for permitting the Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs to visit holy shrines in the two countries.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told a media briefing New Delhi hopes Musharraf's trip will be a "very important and relaxed" one, saying, "we're looking forward to a very constructive visit."

"We trust our respective cricket teams will put up a display of their skills and sportsmanship tomorrow (Sunday) and it'll also provide us to discuss matters of mutual interest," he added.

Musharraf flew to Jaipur by a special Pakistan International Airlines flight from where he took an Indian Air Force helicopter to Ajmer before returning to Rajasthan capital and flying to New Delhi.

He was scheduled to hold a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and attend a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi yesterday evening.

The Pakistani president and Indian premier watch today the first part of the sixth and final one-day international cricket match between India and Pakistan before they hold talks at the palatial Hyderabad House. Musharraf will also attend a lunch to be hosted by Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam.

After talks between Singh and Musharraf, the two countries may come out with a joint statement.

Musharraf will interact with a select group of editors at a five-star hotel tomorrow morning before wrapping his three-day visit and flying to Manila.

Unlike Musharraf's official visit to India in July 2001, his trip this time is 'informal' but it has all the trappings of a state visit.

The Pakistan president had expressed his desire to watch a cricket match of the ongoing India-Pakistan series and India also extended him an invitation.

This is the second meeting between Musharraf and Singh after their first interaction in New York on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session last September.

Among the issues likely to dominate Musharraf's talks with Indian leaders are Kashmir, bilateral cooperation in trade and energy and more confidence-building measures.