LAHORE, May 29: The Imam-i-Kaaba, Al-Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, arrived here on Tuesday for a week-long visit to Pakistan.

He was accorded a warm welcome at the Allama Iqbal International Airport where thousands of citizens had gathered to greet him, among them Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Ijaz-ul-Haq and PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

The Imam-i-Kaaba will lead Fajr prayers at Lahore’s Jamia Ashrafia on May 30. Later, he is to address ulema at Aiwan-i-Iqbal and distribute certificates among them. He will lead Maghrib prayers at the Badshahi Mosque in the evening.

On May 31, the Imam-i-Kaaba will attend a meeting of the Punjab Quran Board at the CM House and attend a luncheon at the Governor House. He will then depart for Islamabad where he is to meet President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and other officials.

Dr Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais is a PhD scholar.

He is being accorded presidential protocol during his visit to Pakistan.—Agencies