ABU DHABI, Jan 24: An angry President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday labelled as ''preposterous'' the suggestions that Pakistani military and intelligence officials may have helped the Taliban cross into Afghanistan.

He also denied reports that Taliban leader Mulla Omar was living in Quetta. Afghan officials have repeatedly suggested that the rebel chief is in Pakistan.

“Whoever says he is in Quetta, I'll take him in my aircraft (to the city)... I will try to catch him myself,” he said. The Taliban leader “is obviously in Afghanistan.”

If he is in Pakistan, “I will send someone to his house. I will catch him myself,'' he said at a press conference.

''He has never, I repeat never, been in Pakistan. Kandahar is his base and he operates from there. Why would he now, after 30 years, suddenly decide to come to Pakistan? Of course he is in Afghanistan.''The president acknowledged that Taliban backers in Pakistan were lending support to the extremists, but insisted both groups marshalled most of their forces inside Afghanistan.

''There is Al Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan, don't get me wrong,'' he said. ''But the problem does not only lie with Pakistan.''

In an interview Al Arabia channel, he reiterated that the Al Qaeda leadership was based in Afghanistan. He said differences had emerged between Osama bin Laden and his right hand man Ayman Al-Zawahri and both were now working separately. He said Osama bin Laden had been suffering from serious kidney problems and was unable to work.

The president got angry when a reporter asked him about recent comments by US officials that Pakistani forces had allowed Pakistan-based Taliban fighters to cross the Afghan border to mount attacks.

''I take extremely strong exception to anybody blaming Pakistan so blatantly, suggesting the intelligence agency or any government agency is cooperating with these extremist forces and sending them into Afghanistan,'' he said. ''This is preposterous.''He said he had dispatched tens of thousands of troops to secure his side of the Afghan border. He insisted that Afghan government forces, along with US military, the International Assistance Force and Nato troops were the ones not shouldering the responsibility of sealing the Afghan side of the border.

''Let us get things clear. The trouble lies in Afghanistan and the solution lies in Afghanistan,'' the president said, sitting in a gilded reception hall at the Emirates Palace, a multibillion-dollar hotel and Emirates government guest residence.

''Why is no one else checking movement on the borders? It has to be done by Afghanistan, by ISAF, Nato and the Americans. Nobody has the right to criticise the manner that we're using if the person doesn't have his own ideas.''

President Musharraf blamed ''certain media and some official sources'' for spreading misinformation about his government's efforts.

He said Al Qaeda and Taliban rebels were claiming a higher death toll among his soldiers than among the Nato and US forces battling them inside Afghanistan. He said pro-Taliban extremists had killed 600 to 700 Pakistani troops, and mounted a suicide bombing on Monday that killed four soldiers and a passerby.

He said a pair of Afghanistan-based Taliban leaders had made recent visits to Pakistan's tribal areas to recruit more members.

''The fight against Al Qaeda or the Taliban can never succeed without Pakistan,'' the president said. ''They come into Pakistan to recruit Taliban.''

The president said his forces arrested 600 to 700 Al Qaeda and Taliban members inside Pakistan, including a large portion of the leadership of both groups.

''Tell me any leader of the Taliban that has been caught in Afghanistan. Tell me one,'' he said angrily. ''I will give you a list of many of the Taliban'' apprehended inside Pakistan.

He said Mulla Omar and other top Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders stayed clear of Pakistan for fear of arrest. He said Omar's last visit to Pakistan came when the cleric was a teenage student at a religious school

The president said that a perception was being created that Taliban were more of Pakistan’s problem than Afghanistan, which was not true because they were solely the problem of Afghanistan. However, he said, Pakistan could help Afghanistan in this regard by taking action against Pakistani religious parties providing funds to the Taliban.He said Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan near the border would be monitored more closely. However, Afghanistan should also take practical measures in this respect.

President Musharraf said that both Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahri were in Afghanistan and the Taliban were being aided by Jalaluddin Haqqani and Mullah Dadallah, who were also in Afghanistan. Therefore, he said, Kabul should put its own house in order, instead of blaming Pakistan for harbouring terrorists.

“We want peace in Afghanistan because peace and stability there is in the interest of Pakistan and other countries in the region,” he said. Pakistan had taken measures to curb terrorism, which the world community had also acknowledged.

Answering a question, he said Pakistan did not support any military action against Iran.

Replying to another question, he said Pakistan had no diplomatic ties with Israel and supported an independent Palestinian state. However, he said, Pakistan was willing to talk to Israel on the issue. He said a solution to the Palestinian issue was imperative for durable peace in the Middle East.

Commenting on the hanging of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussain, the president said the manner and timing of Saddam’s execution were not appropriate.

About the situation in Waziristan, he said the peace agreement with Taliban supporters was not 100 per cent successful but there were some positive sides. He said those who were against the peace deal did not know ground realities.

In reply to a question, he acknowledged that the PPP was one of the biggest parties of the country, but said the government had made no deal with it.—Agencies