ON BOARD PESISDENT’S PLANE, Jan 21: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Sunday reached an understanding on a new initiative for resolving the Palestinian dispute.

The two leaders at a one-to-one meeting that lasted for more than two hours called for joint efforts by the Ummah to back the initiative.

“If we don’t act now, act immediately and come with a new initiative, the dangers to the Muslim world will be maximum and its fallout to Pakistan will be very dangerous,” President Gen Musharraf told the media team accompanying him on his visit to five Arab countries.

“We agreed on the necessity of new and forceful initiatives directed at the resolution of Palestine dispute, in our fight against terrorism and extremism and to bring harmony into the Muslim world,” the president said.

He said there was a need to mature the ideas by taking other Muslim leaders on board and evolving a consensus on how to take forward this new initiative. He said there was a need to collectivise the efforts for peace and harmony and to reject confrontation and move in a new direction with the hope to achieve this goal.—APP

Our Correspondent adds from Riyadh: President Musharraf and King Abdullah held extended talks here on Sunday, covering the entire gambit of Pakistan-Saudi relations and the ‘explosive situation’ in the region.

They discussed matters of mutual interest, the situation in the Middle East, with special reference to the Palestine–Israel conflict, the Afghanistan situation and the emerging situation in Iraq.

According to sources, the growing threat of a war against Iran and its impact on the region were also discussed. Both sides felt that it was imperative to avoid another flashpoint in the region. There was unanimity of views on these issues.

President Musharraf described the Palestinian conflict as the core issue requiring urgent attention of the world and said it was vital that the Muslim world came up with a strategy to address it to bring a lasting peace to the region.

Harmony and peace within the Ummah was the need of the hour, the two sides emphasised. It was stressed that addressing disharmony in the Muslim world was of utmost importance in improving the regional situation.

According to some reports, the two leaders also discussed other important issues relating to the overall situation in the Islamic world.

President Gen Musharraf also emphasised the need for enhancing economic ties between the two countries.

Some analysts here pointed out that both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were under increasing pressure from Washington. In recent days, Washington has increased its pressure on Islamabad. Similarly, Riyadh is also being asked to support all US initiatives, including the military option against Iran. The two countries understand their limits and hence are seeking ways to handle this situation.

President Musharraf was decorated with the King Abdul Aziz medal by King Abdullah for his role in promoting ties between the two states and his efforts in furthering the cause of the Ummah.

Earlier on arrival at the Riyadh Airbase, the president and his entourage were received by King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan. A number of other senior princes and senior Saudi government officials were present at the airport.

President Musharraf was accompanied by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Minister for Information Mohammad Ali Durrani and Pakistani ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Ihsan Ullah.

Later in the evening, President Gen Musharraf left Riyadh for Egypt on the next leg of his regional visit.