The whirlwind tour of five Arab capitals by President Pervez Musharraf from 20-24 January was soaked in Islamic symbolism, aimed at seeking consensus for greater harmony among Muslim states with a view to evolving a blueprint for an exclusive and concerted Muslim peace initiative in the Middle East, with focus on the core Palestine issue.
It could not be a mere coincidence that the President embarked on his quest for peace on the last day of the Hijra year 1427 and headed towards Madina Munawarra. After spending the New Year Eve in devotional prayers at Rawda-e-Rasool (SAS) and performing Umra at Makkah-tul-Mukarramah, he showed humility is evoking the blessings of Allah for his difficult peace mission.
The peace mission commenced in Riad on the Muslim New Year day (1st of Muharram ul Haram) with cordial brotherly exchange of views with Khadim-ul-Harmain Sharifain King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. Consensus on global, regional and bilateral matters was the expected outcome.
King Abdullah also conferred the highest Saudi Civilian Award on his Pakistani brother in recognition of his contribution to the present unprecedented level of Pakistan-Saudi relationship. The urgent concern of President Musharraf reflecting the growing anguish of the people of Pakistan over the fast deteriorating scene in the Middle East was duly appreciated and reciprocated.
The President underlined the urgency of taking a united Muslim initiative to solve the Palestine problem which lay at the root of violence sweeping through the region, impacting Lebanon and Iraq on one hand and Pak-Afghan relations as well as Indo-Pak relations over the core Kashmir issue on the other.
The Saudi side showed full agreement with Musharraf's strategy of need for harmony among Muslim countries to avoid sectarianism as well as the use of moderation manifesting in reconciliatory dialogue rather than confrontational violence for solving the core issues.
Musharraf reiterated Pakistan's consistent and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause "forceful advocating implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, Israel's withdrawal to 1967 borders and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with Al Quds as its capital living side by side with Israel insecurity and peace." The Saudi Monarch was supportive of Pakistan's proposals for adopting a joint Muslim initiative to break the logjam over the Palestine issue as well as promoting harmony within Ummah to curb the cause of sectarianism.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt received his Pakistani counterpart at the red sea resort of Sharm-al-Shaikh. The Egyptian response to Pakistan's initiative was positive and in keeping with their key role in the Middle East imbroglio as well as their daring experience of conflict resolution with Israel.
After the meeting, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit observed, "what is expected today is for a group of Muslim and Arab countries to mobilise the Muslim world and lead it, both towards an internal agreement and in its dealings with the outside world."
President Musharraf's meeting with King Abdullah-II at Amman was heart-warming, reflective of the strategic level relationship obtaining between Pakistan and Jordan. The joint press briefing given by the two leaders reflected harmony and the political will to pursue Pakistan's initiative to its logical conclusion.
President Bashar-al-Assad of Syria warmly welcomed the President of Pakistan and his delegation in Damascus. He was supportive of President Musharraf's peace efforts for the Middle East. He reportedly apprised his Pakistani counterpart of the ongoing serious efforts in this regard in Damascus.
It will be recalled that President Muhmood Abbas of PNA had recently visited Damascus in a bid to come to an understanding with the Hamas leadership. The fluid situation in Lebanon has also been a matter of serious concern for Syria. President Musharraf must have mentioned to his Syrian counterpart of the telephonic conversation he had with the Iranian President Ahmadinejad before commencing his Middle East initiative.
On his way back from Damascus, President Musharraf spent a day at Abu Dhabi where he held talks with Shaikh Khalifa bin Zaid al Nahyan. The close understanding between Pakistan and UAE is underwritten by traditional brotherly relations and flourishing economic co-operation in trade and investment.
The emerging blueprint of Pakistan's Middle East initiative is guided by wide experience in global war on terror and ongoing composite dialogue with India aimed at conflict resolution.
The initiative has been steered by President Musharraf who has acquired the profile of a global strategist with his vision of enlightened moderation and deep analysis of the problems of the Muslim world. The operational steps of the initiative will be defined and fine-tuned in Islamabad after a detailed analysis of inputs gathered by the President during his meetings with key Arab leaders.
Despite insinuations of conspiracy theories about Pakistan's initiative in some sections of our media, the pursuit of peace remains a noble cause. Conspiracy theories reflect fears of human mind, consciously or unconsciously aimed at eliminating the possibility of getting hoodwinked or outwitted and hence appear to provide a superficial cover of security to the mind in doubt.
The people-philosopher of Pakistan, Dr Muhammad Iqbal, warned against this tendency by observing that doubting mindset results in the death of selfhood or Khudi.
(The writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan.)