Musharraf to visit Palestine neighbours

Islamabad, Jan 19 (UNI) Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf will visit five Arab capitals neighbouring Palestine to discuss strategy for resolution of the Palestinian problem.

''The President will be meeting King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin al-Hussein (Jordan) besides Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during his visit beginning tomorrow,'' Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said here this evening.

She said the situation in West Asia continued to be a source of deep global concern especially for the Islamic world and Pakistan. ''The situation in Palestine has aggravated, Lebanon remains to be in crisis following Israeli invasion and withdrawal, Iraq is mired in increasing violence and there are other new and ominous dangers looming on the horizon,'' she added.

''There is a great need for harmony within the Muslim world and unity to address the dangers it faces'', she said.

Ms Aslam said the grave situation had been on the top of the agenda during discussions with visiting dignitaries from Islamic countries and during the number of visits undertaken by the President and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to the West Asian capitals.

During these contacts, it was often suggested that as an important Islamic country Pakistan should make its contribution to help peace efforts in the West Asia, she added.

She recalled that President Musharraf had also engaged leaders from the West to emphasise urgency and the imperative need for addressing the Palestinian issue and the West Asia situation to avert an explosive situation endangering global peace.

Pakistan, which traditionally has taken a hard line against the Jewish state, established its first-ever direct contact with Israel in September 2005 in Turkey.

The meeting between Pakistani and Israeli Foreign Ministers triggered speculations back at home about possible recognition of Israel by Islamabad.

However, officials in the Foreign Ministry downplayed the significance of the issue, saying the September meeting was essentially a gesture to Israel ''to underscore the importance that Islamabad attached to the end of Israeli occupation of Gaza a couple of months ago''.

Pakistani leaders, including President Musharraf, often said Islamabad would continue to support an independent ''Palestinian state with al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital'' and would not recognise Israel until fulfilment of this popular Palestinian demand.

''We are deeply concerned to see that the peace efforts in the region have remained stalled while the situation continues to deteriorate,'' Ms Aslam said.

She also referred to existing dissension within the Palestinian leadership and said new dangerous divisions had appeared within the West Asia owing to the grave conflicts in Iraq while the Israeli aggression against Lebanon has left that country in turmoil.

UNI