ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari is expected soon to make the first visit to India by a Pakistani head of state since 2005.

Zardari's spokesman said on Sunday that the visit would be personal but held out the possibility that it could be official.

Indian media quoted government sources there as saying they hoped there would be formal talks.

“It has been on the cards, and now it is confirmed,” spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Reuters.

“It was supposed to be a private visit. But what it turns out (to be) finally, whether private, official, or private (and) official has yet to be confirmed,” he added.

Zardari is expected to visit a shrine to a revered Sufi saint in the Indian city of Ajmer.

Indian newspapers, citing government sources, said that Indian officials were making efforts to hold political discussions during the visit.