WASHINGTON, Nov 17: The United States has assured India and Pakistan that Secretary of State Colin Powell's departure will not affect Washington's efforts for promoting peace between South Asia's two nuclear neighbours.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told a Tuesday afternoon briefing in Washington he does not expect any policy change towards South Asia after Mr Powell's exit but he acknowledged that the outgoing secretary of state was "instrumental" in helping to address the situation between India and Pakistan.

Mr Powell, who resigned on Monday after serving President George W. Bush for four years, has been "working to resolve regional conflicts, such as in India and Liberia and Haiti and other places as well," said Mr McClellan.

Mr McClellan reminded reporters that "the agenda is set by the President of the United States and he is the one who sets the policy, and the Cabinet is there to help the president implement the agenda and the policy decisions that he makes."

Mr McClellan said the United States has a strong relationship with India and would like to build upon that relationship with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the two countries moved forward.

"And certainly, Secretary Powell has been instrumental in helping to address the situation between India, Pakistan and the region," Mr McClellan said: "And we will continue to work on those efforts and encourage dialogue between the parties. There has been some good progress made in that respect."

He recalled how Mr Powell stayed engaged with both India and Pakistan during the border crisis three years ago. That crisis began after a militant attack on the Indian Parliament building in December 2001 and reached its peak when both sides deployed more than a million troops along the border.

The news that some of these troops might have been equipped with nuclear weapons caused a panic in Washington where senior Bush officials feared that the situation could lead to a possible nuclear conflict in one of the world's most populous regions.

Mr Powell played a very active role in defusing the tensions and personally visited both the countries to urge them to show restraint. Mr Powell, who plans to visit Pakistan either on Dec. 6 or Dec. 8, for a farewell meeting with President Pervez Musharraf also had developed a close personal relationship with the Pakistani ruler over the years, a State Department official told Dawn.

He also plans to visit Kabul on Dec 7 to attend the inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He is visiting the Middle East next week.