KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday drummed up support for his plan to find an Islamic solution to Middle East violence in talks with the leaders of Indonesia and Malaysia.
Musharraf has already met with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates to seek support for his initiative to bring peace to the region.
The Pakistani leader said his trip to Indonesia was focused on discussing “the turmoil within the Muslim world” with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“We both felt that the time has come for action and that there is not room for complacency because things are moving so fast, things are deteriorating so fast, that we need to arrest this deteriorating trend,” he told a joint press conference with Mr Yudhoyono.
He said they had “reviewed the turmoil in Palestine, in Iraq, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan” and had come to an agreement about the need for the new plan to contribute to resolving disputes in the Muslim world.
Later President Musharraf flew to Malaysia for talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the chairman of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
The Malaysian foreign ministry said earlier that the talks would focus on the Middle East peace initiative.
“The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon and how non-Arab OIC member countries could play a more visible role in revitalising the Middle East peace process,” it said.
Outlining his plan in Jakarta, Mr Musharraf said that influential and like-minded Muslim countries would be gathered “to contribute towards resolution of the disputes which are festering within the Muslim world.” The group would consult with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and develop its ideas on how to advance the peace process in the Muslim world.
Mr Yudhoyono welcomed the proposal.
The Indonesian president supported Pakistan's bid to become a dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations later this year.—AFP
