WASHINGTON, Sept 23: President Pervez Musharraf has said that in the past Pakistan suffered because of America's close relations with India while urging members of the newly-formed Pakistan caucus to protect Islamabad's interests on Capitol Hill.

The caucus, formally inaugurated on Wednesday evening, has 50 US lawmakers, including Rush Holt, a Democrat, who joined the group during the president's speech. One more joined on Thursday.

More than 80 US lawmakers had agreed to attend the inaugural session but not all of them came. There are 25 Republican and 24 Democratic congressmen in the caucus, a legally authorized body that allows US lawmakers to lobby for a particular region or a cause. The most active caucus on the Hill is that of Israel but India also has an effective caucus.

"This caucus will help in building the image of our country in the United States and I am very happy to see this reality come true," said the president while addressing the inaugural session on the Hill.

He urged the caucus members to visit Pakistan and have a better understanding "and remove misconceptions about our country". As the president pointed out, the Indian caucus participates in all major debates and discussions on South Asia, forcefully putting across the Indian point of view on issues concerning Pakistan.

Recently, the Indian caucus tried to block the $3 billion aid package President Bush had promised to Pakistan but the Bush administration blocked the move. In the past, such activities had "hurt Pakistan and so has India's close relationship with the United States", said Gen Musharraf. The situation, however, changed after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks when Pakistan became a close US ally in the war against terror, he said.

"We have tried our best to improve our relations with the United States," said the president while urging members of the caucus to help promote even better ties between the two countries.

He asked the caucus members to highlight Pakistan's role in the war against terrorism and reminded them that so far Pakistan had arrested more than 600 terror suspects, extraditing some to the US.

"It is an honour to address the Pakistan caucus, to see the Republicans and Democrats both under one roof and to address such august gathering," said Gen Musharraf. He felicitated the Pakistani community, particularly the Pakistani-American Liaison Center, which helped form the caucus.

The president told the caucus members that Pakistan had played a key role in several conflicts that the United States was involved in, making it easier for the caucus to present Pakistan as a strong US ally.

"Besides the war on terror, we also contributed a lot in the past, specially during the cold war and the struggle for freedom in Afghanistan," he said. The United States and Pakistan, President Musharraf said, were fighting together against the menace of terrorism and "we both want to see a better world of peace".

The Pakistan government, he said, would work together with the United States lawmakers in further strengthening the US-Pakistan relationship. "This is a long-term and broad-based relationship," he added.

He told the caucus members that Pakistan was fighting extremism at home and had also worked with the US to wrap up the network involved in nuclear proliferation. Pakistan, he said, needed 'appreciation and help' to fight the forces of terrorism and extremism and not just criticism and scorn.

The process for forming the caucus began in May this year when the Pakistani-American Liaison Center registered a political action committee with the Federal Election Commission in Washington to support and endorse public officials.

The committee, now known as the PAL-C PAC, is a political action body and works with the caucus to promote Pakistan's interests in the US Congress and the Senate.