Musharraf, who began his diplomatic push with a surprise visit to Indonesia on Wednesday, met Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who chairs the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), later that night and again on Thursday.

Later, both men spoke in support of the idea of bringing Muslim nations together to come up with a new approach to ending the violence in the Palestinian Territories, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan.

"This is a process of consultation toward a fresh initiative," said Musharraf, whose trip to two of Asia's biggest Muslim nations was wrapped in secrecy and surprisingly light security.

"There's no harm in adopting a new approach and trying for success," he added. "At the moment ... things are deteriorating, worsening. What one can try is to convert this downward slide toward upward momentum, toward resolution of disputes."

Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, is seeking to take the lead in Middle East diplomacy and bolster his international standing in the run-up to a general election due sometime between November and January 2008.

But in travelling to Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and to Malaysia he was taking more than political risks: Musharraf is a target for Islamist militants and has survived at least three assassination attempts since he brought Pakistan into the US-led war on terrorism in 2001.

Malaysia's premier said he hoped Musharraf's efforts would lead to a meeting of Muslim nations where the causes of Middle East conflicts could be discussed and new strategies devised.