WASHINGTON, Feb 11: Pakistan’s role in the war on terror and President Pervez Musharraf’s ‘courageous decision’ to join forces with the US in the effort came in for renewed praise by President George W. Bush ahead of his visit to Islamabad and New Delhi early next month.

Speaking to the US National Guard here on Friday, Mr Bush said that Pakistan, which once supported terrorists like the Taliban, was now engaged in routing them as well as Al Qaeda.

He conceded that Afghanistan still faced serious challenges, from illicit drug trafficking to continued violence from Al Qaeda and the remnants of the Taliban regime.

But some 40 nations were involved in a virtual Marshall Plan effort to bring Afghanistan’s economy around, he said.

“A little over four years ago, Pakistan was only one of three countries in the world that recognised the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Today Pakistani forces are risking their lives in the hunt for Al Qaeda,” Mr Bush said.

He added, “President Musharraf has faced several attempts on his life since his courageous decision to join the war on terror.”

Mr Bush recalled that President Musharraf had said ‘something interesting’ in one of his speeches on terrorism. Quoting from President Musharraf’s speech, he said: “Terrorism threatens to destabilise all modern societies. It cannot be condoned for any reason or cause.”

“President Musharraf is right. In the war against terror, there is no separate peace — and no nation can stand on the sidelines,” he said.

Mr Bush also noted how terrorist supporters freely operated from Saudi Arabia before September 11, 2001, but now the flow of money out of the country was down.

The US president said that the terrorists ‘cannot hide the inhumanity of their ideology’.