WASHINGTON, Jan 28: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan has condemned the Jan 13 US missile attack on a village in Bajaur Agency as “an issue of sovereignty” and cannot allow any external force to operate within its territory.

In a joint interview to Newsweek and Washington Post, to be published on Sunday, Gen Musharraf said that Al Qaeda was as much responsible for violating Pakistan’s territorial integrity as any other force.

He once again rejected the suggestion that the US had warned Pakistan before the attack. “This was definitely not coordinated with us. We condemn it and have objected to it as an issue of sovereignty,” he said. “But we do know there are foreigners and Al Qaeda in that area. It is my regret that there are such people there.”

Asked if the foreign militants included Arabs and Al Qaeda members, Gen Musharraf said: “Yes, indeed.”

He said Pakistan was investigating who got killed in the attack but “probably — and I use that word carefully — there were five or six Arabs or foreigners killed there”.

He also referred to US media reports claiming that top Al Qaeda members were among those killed in the attack but offered no comments.

“While this (strike) is a violation of our sovereignty, I also consider the presence of Al Qaeda and foreigners a violation of our sovereignty,” said President Musharraf. “Let’s not play in the hands of extremists (who say) that sovereignty is only violated when someone comes by air.”

When the reporter suggested that on some occasions US authorities may not have the time to coordinate an attack with Pakistan, particularly when they learn that an Al Qaeda leader was hiding in a certain area, President Musharraf said: “You have to compromise on these things. Our capability is not as much as the US, but that doesn’t mean that we should allow US forces to operate in Pakistan.”

When the reporter asked if he was asking the US to turn the intelligence over to Pakistan, Gen Musharraf said that the US and Pakistan were already sharing intelligence reports on these issues.

Commenting on the argument used in Washington that intelligence is short-lived and action is necessary, the president asked: “How is that? Are they sitting in a jet? Getting ready to take off? One has to see from situation to situation. But it is very clear: there is a domestic sensitivity, which is very important.”

President Musharraf said there were only ‘few radical’ groups that opposed his move to open a dialogue with Israel and he does not care about them. Pakistan, however, has not changed its position on the Palestinian issue, he added.

“We are for the creation of a Palestinian homeland although we accept Israel’s reality as a state. So this stand is not changed. I feel we can contribute more strongly toward this cause if we are talking to Israel, so this is why we did it.”

Asked what brought him to make this decision, the president said: “I initially said if there is some development indicating progress toward resolution of the Palestinian dispute, we might be able to consider our diplomatic stance toward Israel. And I think this pullout from Gaza was a major decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. We thought this needs to be encouraged and it is the right direction to move, and we thought we should take a step.”

Asked to assess Pakistan’s relations with India, Gen Musharraf said relations between the two countries had never been as good as they were at present. “We have no tension, and there is no firing on the line of control.

“My disappointment is that we are not going forward on the dispute resolution — especially on Kashmir.”

He said the Indians say that they have not been very forthcoming on his proposal about self-governance in Kashmir because of cross-border violence conducted in India by Pakistani-backed terrorist groups. “These are independent groups acting without any guidance or support from anyone, following their own agendas. If the Indians think we sponsor (these terrorist groups), I don’t even want to reply to that kind of accusation.”

President Musharraf said that the terrorist groups that tried to kill him had all been eliminated. “Either killed or arrested.”

Asked if Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i-Muhammad have also been wiped out, he said: “They didn’t attack me. Whoever did is gone. And these groups are all banned.”

The president said that some of the groups change their names and re-emerge but “we have arrested about 50 per cent of them. The rest are underground”.

He said Pakistani troops could eliminate top Al Qaeda leaders whenever they were given a target, adding that they had eliminated Al Qaeda sanctuaries and about 200 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the fight.

When the reporter said that people in America can’t understand why it’s so hard to find Osama bin Laden, Gen Musharraf said: “Because they don’t know the environment. There are very high mountains, between 10,000 and 15,000 feet, no communication infrastructure, and some people (are) abetting (them).”