WASHINGTON, Aug 21: US President George W. Bush reached out to his former ally Pervez Musharraf on Thursday, thanking him for his role in the war on terror. He then called Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to tell him that he had telephoned Mr Musharraf.

“President Bush had wished him (Mr Musharraf) well and thanked him for his efforts in the democratic transition of Pakistan, as well as the fight against Al Qaeda and extremist groups,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

In his conversation with the prime minister, Mr Bush also offered sympathies over recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

In both the calls, Mr Bush expressed solidarity with Pakistan which, he noted, had been wracked by political turmoil and suicide bombings that killed dozens of people.

However, as the information released by the White House showed, Mr Bush’s call to the prime minister aimed primarily at avoiding any misunderstanding that his telephone to Mr Musharraf could have created.

His call to Mr Musharraf, however, reflected his desire to stay in touch with a man he worked with for seven years and regarded as a good ally and a personal friend.

Diplomatic observers in Washington noted that Mr Bush’s call to Mr Musharraf also aimed to indicate that the United States was not going to abandon the former Pakistani president in his hour of need.

Both the White House and the State Department indicated earlier this week that should Mr Musharraf seek to live in the US at any point, he would be welcomed.

Political observers in Washington say that Mr Musharraf will be treated differently than President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines or the Shah of Iran because he has a better image in the United States. He is not seen here as corrupt as Mr Marcos or as ruthless as the Shah.

Baqir Sajjad Syed in Islamabad adds: Mr Bush told the prime minister the US would continue to cooperate with Pakistan in the war on terror and assistance to deal with the current economic crisis.

“The US will continue to remain involved in the battle against extremists and will assist Pakistan in overcoming its economic crisis,” an official of the Foreign Office quoted Mr Bush as saying.

He congratulated Mr Gilani on ‘transition to democracy’.

The US president had developed good rapport with the Pakistani premier during the latter’s visit to Washington last month and had called him his ‘brother’.

Both the leaders reaffirmed their resolve to jointly deal with the menace of terrorism and extremism which, they said, was a threat not only to the US and Pakistan, but to the entire world.