ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: US Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned President Gen Pervez Musharraf and lauded his statesmanship in furthering the cause of peace in South Asia.

He lauded the leadership of Pakistan and India on the latest overtures and agreement on taking forward the process for establishing lasting peace in the region.

Terming the 12th Saarc Summit historic and Pakistan and India's resolve to enter into a composite dialogue acts of statesmanship, State Department's spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington: "At the same time, we have seen the leaders themselves put a lot of effort into getting to this point. We have seen them take concrete and practical steps. We have seen them create a momentum."

Mr Boucher said this during the daily news briefing. Asked to give his assessment "of an apparent rapprochement" between Pakistan and India calling for "new talks next month", Mr Boucher referred to remarks made earlier by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"It's been taken through a series of acts of statesmanship, decisions made by India and Pakistan. "We have been very supportive of that process and we look forward to continuing to work with them and help them as they go forward into a dialogue."-APP/AFP