Associated Press
CAIRO: President Hosni Mubarak and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held talks Monday on the presence of Arab fighters on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and on a role for Muslim nations in supporting the Israeli-Arab peace process.
They also discussed the situation in Iraq during their meeting in Sharm el-Sheik.
The meeting came just after a suicide car bomber attacked a military convoy in a northwestern Pakistan, killing himself and at least four soldiers. The incident occurred in a province that borders Afghanistan.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri told journalists that Musharraf and Mubarak discussed the presence of Arab militants on the border with Afghanistan.
We have paid a heavy price for that, he said without further explanation and without mentioning Monday s attack.
Talks in the Red Sea resort city focused mainly on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What is happening in the Arab world and in Palestine in particular has an emotional impact in Pakistan, said Kasuri in Arabic.
We cannot sit on the sidelines as spectators.
Egypt s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said discussions centered on how Muslim countries can sharpen the determination of the Muslim world to change the current situation.
There is agreement on the need for joint Islamic action to achieve a breakthrough and a settlement on the ground in the Arab and Islamic regions, Aboul Gheit said in Arabic.The leaders also reviewed developments in Iraq, he said.
Neither Abul Gheit nor Kasuri provided further details about the presidents meeting but Egyptian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorized to speak to reporters, said Musharraf is exploring possibilities of a new initiative for resolving the Palestine dispute.
Musharraf began a Middle East tour Saturday that has taken him to Saudi Arabia. He is expected to visit Syria, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Before he embarked on the tour, Musharraf said he will discuss with Arab leaders how to bring harmony to in the Muslim world. He also called his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discussed with him the Middle East situation.
Musharraf s tour comes amid mounting crises in the Palestinian territories, Iraq and the Gulf.
