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Pakistan's Musharraf Leaves Beirut, Closing Middle East Tour
BEIRUT (News Agencies) - Pakistan's military leader Pervez Musharraf ended his Middle East tour Wednesday, leaving Beirut after a two-day visit to Lebanon during which Islamabad backed Lebanon's "diplomatic efforts" to "regain" territory occupied by Israel.
On Wednesday morning, Musharraf met Lebanese President Emile Lahoud who thanked him for his country's support and recognition of Lebanon's rights to recover land held by Israel and reiterated his rejection of a permanent implantation of the Palestinian refugees on Lebanese soil, an official statement said.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said earlier that Lebanon's interim foreign minister, Mohammad Baydoun, "explained to me that despite Israel's troop pullout from southern Lebanon [in May], there was still a lingering problem as part of Lebanon's territory is still occupied.
"We are now more sensitive to the issue, and we back Lebanon's diplomatic efforts to regain its rights," Abdul Sattar told reporters after a meeting with Baydoun.
Since the Israeli withdrawal, Lebanon has laid claim to the Shebaa Farms area on the border with Syria, with Syrian consent, which Israel captured from Damascus in 1967.
Abdul Sattar was part of a large delegation accompanying Musharraf on his visit to Lebanon, the last leg of a regional tour.
Musharraf said Islamabad was ready to help Lebanon with de-mining work in the south of the country, where the Israeli army left more than 130,000 mines during its 22-year occupation.
At least nine Lebanese civilians have been killed and 63 others injured after stepping on landmines since the May 24th Israeli pullout.
Following a meeting with Musharraf, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri noted that Islamabad had been training Lebanese officers for some time, though he gave no details.
Musharraf added that he was "also keen to develop defense cooperation with Syria and Jordan".
Musharraf kicked off his tour in Syria, where six cooperation agreements were signed. In Damascus, he had called on India to negotiate for a peaceful solution to the Kashmir conflict, "which cannot be solved by violence".
In a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II, the two heads of state reiterated their support for the "Palestinians' right to establish an independent state with east Jerusalem as its capital" and their call for a fair solution concerning the issue of Palestinians refugees' right of return and right to compensation.
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