Musharraf will visit Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry said in a statement here. It did not mention dates for the trip but official sources here said the visit begins from late tonight.

The Pakistan President will be meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and will also have discussions with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the statement said.

"The Middle East situation continues to be a source of deep global concern especially for the Islamic world and Pakistan," the statement said.

"The situation in Palestine has aggravated, Lebanon remains in crisis following Israeli invasion and withdrawal, Iraq is mired in increasing violence and there are other new and ominous dangers looming on the horizon," it said.

Musharraf has engaged leaders from the West to emphasise urgency and the imperative need for addressing the Palestinian issue and the Middle East crisis to avert an explosive situation endangering global peace, the statement said.

The President has shared deep concern over the situation with every leader from the Muslim world whom he has met. "And they all agree on the urgent need for fresh efforts involving Arab and other influential Muslim countries for peace and conflict resolution in the Middle East".

The statement said Pakistan is deeply concerned to see that the peace efforts in the region have remained stalled while the situation continues to deteriorate.