TEHRAN/ISLAMABAD, 6 February 2007 — Pakistan’s President Gen. Pervez Musharraf held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran yesterday focused on his plan to find a solution to halt violence in the Middle East.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office earlier said that Musharraf, who is also due to visit Turkey on this trip, would discuss the Middle East situation, Iraq and other challenges confronting the Muslim world.

ISNA news agency reported that Khamenei told Musharraf: “Israel has been the main reason for divisions among Islamic nations.” Any plan about the Middle East would be successful if the US stops bullying in the region and the Zionist crimes are put to an end, he added.

“This dangerous plan is under operation in Iraq and some other countries, and Islamic nations must foil this plot through unity,” Khamenei said.

Musharraf has already met with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates to seek support for his initiative to bring peace to the region.

He told reporters before his departure from Pakistan that his visit was a continuation of earlier trips to seven Arab and Islamic countries.

“We want to address all the problems afflicting the Muslim world, address the Palestinian dispute and bring harmony by attacking the issue of extremism and terrorism and resolving all the disputes of the Muslim world,” he said. “We hope if all goes well, we will take further steps in promoting peace and harmony in the Muslim world.”

Kashmir Solidarity Day

President Musharraf yesterday said he was optimistic that a more conciliatory tone in talks with India would bring an end to their 60-year-old dispute over Kashmir.

His comments came as thousands of Pakistanis rallied across the country for a “Kashmir Solidarity Day” and condemned alleged atrocities in the Indian-ruled part of the valley.

Musharraf said that nuclear-armed India and Pakistan had changed their stance from “confrontationist ... to reconciliatory resolution.”

“We are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel where we may be able to resolve the dispute for good, and for the benefit of the people of Kashmir and to give them final peace,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Musharraf as saying before he left for Tehran.

In January, Pakistan and India renewed their commitment to carry forward the peace dialogue during talks between their foreign ministers in Islamabad which covered subjects including the Kashmir dispute and terrorism.

Musharraf said Solidarity Day — a national holiday here — was different from previous years “as (the) focus has changed toward the resolution of the dispute, and I am happy about it.” Pakistani authorities continued with a full program of events, including one minute’s silence for tens of thousands of people killed in Kashmir during a 17-year uprising against the Indian rule.

About 1,000 students, laborers and political party workers marched in the capital, Islamabad. Streets were bedecked with banners saying: “Kashmir, a valley of tears” and “We salute freedom fighters in Kashmir.” More than 3,000 people rallied in the central city of Multan and protests elsewhere denounced Indian “atrocities.”

Pakistanis and Kashmiris formed a human chain at Kohala bridge, which links Pakistan with its part of Kashmir, state television said. Special prayers for Kashmir’s freedom were also offered in mosques across the country.

The day officially supports Kashmir’s right of “self-determination” under longstanding UN resolutions which call for a plebiscite in Kashmir on whether it should be ruled by India or Pakistan.

In October 2004, Musharraf suggested resolving the dispute by demilitarizing Kashmir and either placing it under United Nations mandate, putting it under joint control or giving it independence.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the legislative assembly of the Pakistani sector of Kashmir yesterday that Pakistan was committed to resolving the dispute “in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris.”

Meanwhile, a prominent Kashmiri militant leader said Pakistan must support the militant campaign against Indian rule and peace talks with India were futile.

Syed Salahuddin, who heads his own guerrilla faction and is leader of the United Jihad Council umbrella organization of separatist groups fighting India rule, said he had no hope a three-year-old peace process would lead to agreement on Kashmir.

“I believe only a strong militant force backed and guided by a strong political force can help achieve a solution,” he said in a telephone interview on Sunday.

“We don’t see any positive, tangible outcome of the ongoing exercise,” he said, referring to the talks.

“Let them do what they want to do, but we aren’t with them in this futile exercise,” he said of the talks and those who back them including moderate separatists in Indian Kashmir, some of whom have urged the guerrillas to back peace efforts.

While Pakistan says it only offers Kashmiri “freedom fighters” political and diplomatic support, India says Pakistan has for years orchestrated the infiltration of insurgents into Indian Kashmir.

“Apart from extending political, moral and diplomatic support, Pakistan should in particular support the militant front to remove a sense of deprivation and isolation among Kashmiris,” Salahuddin said.