STOCKHOLM, July 5: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday urged the international community to change its perception about the Muslim world and at the same time, asked the Muslims to unite to face the challenges of the 21st century.

Addressing a gathering of Swedish parliamentarians, intellectuals and opinion-makers at the Stockholm School of Economics, the president said Pakistan was pursuing a policy of enlightened moderation which, he stressed, must also be followed by other Muslim countries. He was convinced that this was the best possible way to counter the charges of fundamentalism against the Muslim world.

On the other hand, Gen Musharraf observed, the West cooperation and collaboration was needed to resolve political issues equitably, especially the Middle East and Kashmir, to remove misunderstanding among the Muslims.

"There is a wrong perception about Islam regarding militancy. Islam teaches moderation, tolerance and democracy. The root cause of militancy lies in political injustice which must be removed," he asserted.

The president said that the Muslims were suffering from the fallout of the political conflicts precipitated by the event of 9/11. Referring to the war against terrorism, he said: "Pakistan has rendered tremendous services to blunt terrorism.

A big majority of Pakistanis are against terrorism and hold moderate views." He said the country was strongly operating against Al Qaeda and had arrested more than 600 militants.

He pointed out that only a small number of people in Wana tribal area were facilitating the Al Qaeda operatives. He said the majority of tribesmen supported measures taken by the government.

On India-Pakistan relations, the president said steps had been taken to resolve all outstanding issues, including the Kashmir dispute. He said democracy was very much in place in Pakistan and added that for the first time the people had been empowered through a devolution plan to settle their own problems at the grass-roots level.

He further said that women had been given 33 per cent representation in the assemblies at all the tiers. He said national economy had improved with the fiscal deficit down to 4pc, debt services reduced from 64pc to 36pc, and foreign exchanges reserves having grown to over $12 billion. Ambassador Rolf Ekeus, the high commissioner on national minorities, and chairman of the government board of SIPRI, presented the address of welcome. -APP