Jordan and Pakistan step up anti-terror cooperation

AMMAN, Jan 23 (Reuters) US allies Pakistan and Jordan agreed to broaden their security cooperation to combat the spread of Muslim militancy and called for fresh talks to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, officials said.

Both King Abdullah and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, allies in the US-led war on terrorism, told reporters the two Muslim countries had agreed to give a broader ''strategic dimension'' to their bilateral cooperation.

''There is a serious challenge in the shape of our common fight against terrorism and extremism. There is an ever increasing need for harmony within the Muslim world,'' Musharraf, on a West Asia tour, told reporters in Amman.

Both leaders have tried to promote moderate Islam as a religion of peace that shuns violence, but both face tribal and conservative forces holding strong anti-Western views because of the West's perceived double standards towards the Muslim world.

''I found complete convergence of views ... the developments impact on all of us and together we need to play a role to avert the dangers facing us,'' Musharraf said before heading for Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

Both countries have called on the United States and Europe to help solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which they say is a root cause of international turmoil.

King Abdullah said Musharraf backed efforts to revive Arab -Israeli peace talks aimed at establishing a viable and independent Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a comprehensive settlement.

''The unresolved Palestine issue remains central to peace and security in the region and far beyond this immediate region,'' Musharraf said.

REUTERS SY RK2120