ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: Foreign ministers of seven Muslim countries, who met here on Sunday to explore new approaches and ideas for ending turmoil in the Middle East, opposed the use of force to resolve the standoff over Iranian nuclear programme.

The ministers, a joint statement issued after the meeting said, viewed with concern the escalation of tension over the Iranian nuclear programme and stressed that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy and there must be no use of force.

Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia and Jordan as well as the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) attended the meeting, a follow-up of President Pervez Musharraf's Middle East peace initiative.

The president last month visited nine Muslim states in the Middle East and Southeast Asia and urged them to join forces to undertake a new Middle East peace initiative.

Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has offered to host a summit in Makkah to promote such an endeavour.

Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said the foreign ministers underscored the need for de-escalation instead of aggravation and confrontation in the Gulf region.

He said the ministers agreed that conflict and violence in Iraq was a source of deep distress and anxiety to all Muslims.

The foreign ministers said that the Palestinian question was the central and core problem in the Middle East and it must be resolved without delay on the basis of UN resolutions. The Arab peace initiative and other initiatives recognised the need for establishment of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

They expressed concern over continuing occupation and illegal actions of Israel, including the latest violation of Al Aqsa mosque. They called for unity among the Palestinians and welcomed the establishment of the Palestinian national government following the Makkah agreement through the efforts of King Abdullah.

They also demanded withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Syrian and Lebanese territories.

The ministers expressed concern over tensions within Lebanon and called upon all parties to exercise restraint.

They reiterated their strong commitment to fight all forms of terrorism and extremism. They also expressed deep concern over campaigns to malign the noble faith of Islam and said such acts and trends must be effectively dealt with and defeated.

The foreign ministers decided to continue their deliberations on ideas and plans to be presented to the leaders for discussion at the forthcoming summit.

Answering a question about the absence of foreign ministers of Iran and Syria from the meeting, Mr Kasuri said it was just a starting point and more countries might come in at a later stage.

Responding to another question, he said the Kashmir dispute was still there on the OIC agenda, but it was not discussed in the meeting because it was held in the context of recent developments in the Middle East.

Earlier, speaking at the inaugural session of the conference, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Palestine continued to be a festering wound that had caused tremendous suffering to its people and agitated the minds of two generations of Muslims across the world.

He said this grave issue was one of the root causes of frustration, anger and extremism in the Islamic world, adding that a durable peace in the Middle East demanded an honourable solution to the Palestinian issue based on justice, equity and realism, which must be in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Palestinian people.

“In this context, we welcome the recent Makkah accord that should bring calm to the Palestinian territories. We hope that the establishment of the national unity government will help progress towards the realisation of the objective of a sovereign and viable state of Palestine.”

The prime minister called for bringing the dangerous conflict of Palestine to an end at the earliest. He said: “Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity are of utmost importance to us and must be preserved. The Iraqi people must be enabled to decide their own destinies.”

He also underlined the need for collective efforts to arrest tensions in Lebanon and discourage forces that could push that country towards internal strife.

The prime minister said that Golan Heights and other issues in the Middle East should also be resolved through negotiations.

Mr Aziz said there were also ominous developments signalling new dangers on the horizon, especially in the shape of tensions over the Iranian nuclear issue.