WASHINGTON, July 26: US Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke to President Pervez Musharraf on Monday - his second call in three days - to discuss the situation in Sudan's western Darfur province.

As the calls indicate, the US has joined the European Union in urging Pakistan to play a role in settling the dispute. Muslim diplomats in Washington fear the conflict may lead to the disintegration of Africa's largest country and a key Muslim nation if left unresolved.

"The secretary also spoke to Pakistani President Musharraf today," said Adam Ereli, the State Department's deputy spokesman. "They exchanged their views of the situation and again spoke of the importance of moving forward in the Security Council."

Pakistan's deputy chief of mission in Washington, Mohammed Sadiq, told Dawn that the US Congress also has approached Islamabad to help resolve the dispute. UN observers and international aid agencies have described the situation in Darfur as a humanitarian disaster, accusing a government-backed Arab militia called Janjaweed of ethnic cleansing. The persecuted ethnic Africans in Darfur are also Muslims like the Arab militia.

Both Mr Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan have vowed to impose strict sanctions on Sudan if the ethnic cleansing does not stop. Human rights groups are urging the United Nations to declare the Arab militia guilty of genocide, which would then require the international community to forcibly stop the attacks.

Mr Powell also discussed his meetings with the secretary-general in New York last week when he spoke to President Musharraf, his spokesman said. The two leaders also discussed "our assessment again of where things stood in Sudan", Mr Ereli said.

On Thursday, the United States tabled proposals for a UN resolution that would impose an immediate arms embargo against Sudanese Arab militias and warn the Sudanese government of possible sanctions in a month.

Pakistan, a member of the UN Security Council until December 2004, is playing a key role in the efforts inside the world body to end the crisis. Mr Ereli said Mr Powell spoke to President Musharraf on Saturday as well when he called other world leaders including Mr Annan and German Foreign Minister of German Joschka Fischer.

On Sunday, the US Secretary of State discussed the situation with the foreign ministers of France, Russia and China, all permanent members of the Security Council, indicating that the US administration is pushing for sanctions against Sudan.

On Saturday, German Foreign Minister Fischer met President Muhsarraf in Islamabad, asking him to use Pakistan's UNSC position to influence Sudan. After his meeting with Mr Fischer, Gen Musharraf said that while Pakistan wants to help, it also wants to ensure that Sudan's territorial integrity is preserved.

On Monday the president had a long meeting with the Sudanese ambassador in Islamabad, discussing the proposals he has received from the EU and the US administration.

Earlier this week, the Pakistan Foreign Office gave a detailed briefing to the president on the situation in Darfur, focusing mainly on the moves inside the UN Security Council. Pakistan is presently studying and holding consultations over the US draft resolution on the Darfur situation.