Time to deal with terrorism, says Pakistani president

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - President Pervez Musharraf marked Pakistan's 60th anniversary Tuesday saying the battle against terrorism is being waged for his own country's sake and not America's.

Al-Qaeda and other militant organisations using Pakistani border regions as a base for operations posed a threat to Pakistan and it was time they were dealt with, he said in comments marking Independence Day.

"It is time that the entire nation rises against them," Musharraf said, referring to Taliban and Al-Qaeda cells in the northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.

"We are not confronting terrorism for America, we are doing it for ourselves," he said in remarks quoted by state run Associated Press of Pakistan.

"I see everything from Pakistan's point of view. Now if that from Pakistan's point of view suits America, all right," he said.

Musharraf has reacted angrily to accusations that he is not doing enough to deal with terrorist groups, and to threats from the United States that unilateral airstrikes could be launched against the cells in northwest.

The threats from Washington were sabre-rattling, he was quoted as saying Tuesday, but would not result on attacks on Pakistan's sovereign territory.

"I am 200 percent sure that these are neither at official nor at government level," he said.

With national elections set for later this year or early next, Musharraf issued a call for voters to participate.

"I urge all Pakistani citizens to get involved in the electoral process and become the instruments of enlightened moderation in their beloved country," Musharraf said in an address titled "To all who care about Pakistan."

He said elections would be free and fair, ensure economic stability and be held in a free media environment.

Musharraf toppled the elected government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup in October 1999.