Agence France Presse

New Delhi, April 16:

The Pakistani president will receive birth certificates for himself, an older brother and his sister when he visits his birthplace in India this weekend, but a newspaper said today Pervez Musharraf is two years younger than he thinks. New Delhi Municipal Corporation dug out the originals after Musharraf’s mother, Begum Zarin, visited the Indian capital’s Lala Girdharilal Maternity Hospital last month and asked to see the birth certificates of her sons Javed and Pervez, officials said. They were thought to have been born there in July 1941 and August 1942, respectively. However, the Hindustan Times reported, “Mama, your Pervez just got two years younger”. The search turned up three birth certificates for a girl born on July 19, 1941, a boy August 11, 1942 and another boy on July 22, 1945, it said.

The girl is believed to be Musharraf’s eldest sister and the first boy brother Javed. “So his real date of birth may be 1945 while the official records say it is August 11, 1943,” a council official told the newspaper. Five laminated copies of each certificate will be presented to Musharraf by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “Begum Zarin will be pleased,” the Hindustan Times added. Musharraf’s visit begins today with a trip to a Muslim shrine in Rajasthan. Tomorrow he will watch an India-Pakistan cricket match in New Delhi and hold talks with Singh to try to push forward a 14-month-old peace process.