ON BOARD PLANE, Sept 26: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Sunday said the positive outcome of his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a victory of peace.

"No one has lost, both countries have gained, peace has gained, it is the victory of peace, which augurs well," the president told newsmen on his way to Amsterdam from New York.

He said: "I have been urging that both countries should step back from their maximal positions and the joint statement exactly reflects that." "I found Manmohan Singh an extremely sincere man and saw a desire in him to address the lingering issues sincerely. I am hopeful about future," he added.

During the meeting, the president said, he emphasized the importance of confidence building measures and the composite dialogue process going in tandem and that Kashmir could not be sidelined, stating that the Indian prime minister showed an understanding of this.

The two sides, he said, also discussed the project of gas pipeline transporting gas to India via Pakistan. Asked if the subject of his uniform came under discussion during meeting with US President George Bush, the president said: "It was not at all mentioned during the meeting."

He dismissed the impression that the US leader particularly discussed the issue of South Waziristan. "We did discuss the war against terrorism in its overall perspective, but did not discuss Wana particularly. We discussed bilateral relations and Afghanistan with reference to security situation for Oct 9 election process."

The president termed his six-day visit successful, saying that his address to the UN, interaction with the media and bilateral meetings provided an opportunity to project effectively Pakistan's position on key issues of the day. -APP