The plea from the Islamic nations bloc came a day after a suicide bombing during protests at Islamabad's pro-Taliban Red Mosque killed 14 people.

OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, in a statement, condemned the attack and called on all sides involved to "stop the cycle of blind violence that contradicts the principles of Islam and its teachings of forgiveness."

The Pakistani government originally cracked down on the mosque after it led a Taliban-style vigilante campaign for Sharia law that climaxed with the abduction in Islamabad of seven citizens from China.

Musharraf won plaudits for tackling militants holed up in the mosque, but the loss of more than 100 lives in the operation to clear it sparked the current militant backlash.

The president arrived late Friday in Saudi Arabia, where the OIC is based. He was due to hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah and perform the Umra mini-pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites.

Musharraf has also been facing pressure after losing a legal battle with Pakistan's top judge that could yet undermine his eight-year military rule. He seized power in a coup in 1999.

The government denied reports on Friday that Musharraf had held a secret meeting with exiled premier Benazir Bhutto in Abu Dhabi in a bid to arrange a power-sharing pact.