WASHINGTON, Jan 12: The United States has unequivocally welcomed President Pervez Musharraf’s speech on Saturday and said it provided a basis for the reduction of tensions between Pakistan and India.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a statement late in the afternoon, said President Musharraf had taken a bold and principled stand to set Pakistan squarely against terrorism and extremism both in and outside Pakistan.

“The United States,” the secretary said, “applauds the banning of Jaish-i-Mohammed and Lashkar-i-Taiba and welcomes President Musharraf’s explicit statements against terrorism and particularly notes his pledge that Pakistan will not tolerate terrorism under any pretext, including Kashmir,” the secretary added.

Referring to Gen Musharraf’s offer in his speech to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to solve their differences through dialogue, Mr Powell described the gesture as encouraging. The secretary said the speech “reconfirms Pakistan’s role as a frontline state in the war against global terrorism”.

In remarks that will be seen as directed particularly at India, Mr Powell said in light of the speech “and the strong actions that President Musharraf has taken so far and the new actions to which he has committed his country, the United States believes the basis exists for the resolution of tensions between India and Pakistan through diplomatic and peaceful means”.

The speech was anxiously awaited, and both Preident George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell were said to have listened to it. The Bush administration had been pressing Pakistan to take acton against extremist elements, and General Musharraf’s declaration in his speech that he would not allow Pakistan’s territory to be used to perpetrate acts of terrorism anywhere should have been noted with particular interest here.

Fearing that comments and reports made in anticipation of the speech might have created unduly high expectations, Secretary Powell, in a special interview with news agency reporters, said on Friday it was important to remember that “you can’t expect every action to be taken at the same time you’re giving a speech which is a policy statement”.

He had therefore told the Indians: “Let’s see what President Musharraf says, and let’s see what action are taken at the time of the speech and also after the speech”.

Now that the speech has been delivered and several steps outlined, including a ban on organizations linked to militancy in Kashmir, Mr Powell might find his hands strenghtned as he tries to persuade the Indians to scale down their massive and aggressive troop concentrations on their border with Pakistan.

The secretary leaves next week for a visit to the subcontinent.