Musharraf embarks on visit to Arab states
Regional-Pakistan, Politics, 1/20/2007

Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf today embarked on a four-day visit to five Middle East countries to discuss latest situation in the Middle East, staring at Saudi Arabia and visiting Egypt, Jordan, Syria and United Arab Emirate, saying "I consider Palestine as a core issue."

The situation in Palestine has aggravated, Lebanon remains in crisis, Iraq is mired in increasing violence and there are other new and ominous dangers looming on the horizon.

In the face of those challenges, there is a great need for harmony within the Muslim world and unity to address the dangers it faces, it said.

The statement said that Pakistan is deeply concerned that peace efforts in the region have remained stalled while the situation continues to deteriorate.

There is also the common perception that the Palestine issue continues to be at the heart of tension and conflict in the region which calls for strong political and diplomatic initiatives on the part of the Muslim countries.

It said that Pakistan has always supported the Palestine cause, forcefully advocating implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions for settlement of the issue.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad said in a phone talk with Musharraf yesterday that "Islamic countries must prepare the ground for materializing the Palestinian nation's rights."

Considering the Palestinian crisis as the "most complicated and most important" problem in contemporary history for the Islamic world and for the region, the president said, "The Islamic countries should wisely support the elected Palestinian government and the establishment of peace and stability in the Middle East."

The Pakistani president, too, that had made the phone call, referring to his regional tour, said that the EU countries' potentials in solving the Middle East crises should be taken into account.

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