Islamabad: Under increasing international pressure, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on July 12 asked foreign elements from Afghanistan working against national interests in the country to surrender as he renewed his pledge to stamp out terrorism.

"Who are these people? They are foreigners. These people are those who fought against the Soviets with the help of the West," Musharraf said in a televised address to the nation.

"These anti-national elements cannot be allowed to operate here. They have a different agenda. It is not that of Pakistan. Pakistan has its own problems. We don't want to be part of their agenda.

"They have come from various countries, if they surrender we will send them back to their countries," Musharraf said.

Exuding confidence that terrorism will come down, Musharraf said that the entire country has to get together to combat it.

Musharraf's remarks come after his address on May 27 when he promised not to allow any terrorist attack from the country's soil and brushed aside India's complaints on cross-border terrorism saying that no infiltration was taking place from the Pakistani side.

The military ruler denied as "absolutely false" reports that US troops were operating on the western front to arrest fleeing members of al-Qaida and Taleban.

"Our military operations are going on on the Western front. Some people say US troops are operating. This is absolutely false. There are around a dozen Americans who are there and their job is to provide intelligence and communications," he said.

"Besides them, the Pakistan Army frontier corps and the Intelligence agencies are operating there. I have full praise for these people who are operating in these areas for the first time," he said.

PTI