Paris: Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden could be hiding in Pakistan protected by a small group, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview published in Paris on July 5.

"If he is protected by a big group, I think that bin Laden is on the Afghan side of the border (with Pakistan)… If the group has less than 10 people, he could be in Pakistan," Musharraf told 'Le Monde' newspaper.

A big group could not hide the Saudi-born dissident because Pakistan had deployed 6,000 soldiers to the border area with Afghanistan, supported by a rapid reaction force and technology paid for with foreign aid, the President explained.

"The problem is in Afghanistan, where there is a total power vacuum. The weight of the government does not go beyond the capital (Kabul)," he said.

The President called on the Afghan government, the multinational peacekeeping force in Kabul and US troops to move into rural Afghan areas to prevent them from being dominated by individual warlords.

Musharraf also told the daily that he would not step down as President and head of the armed forces until a long-lasting, stable democracy had taken root in the Asia nation.

"I have made my choice. I will not take off my uniform until democracy is stabilised in Pakistan. I know that I will have to take off this uniform one day, but I will decide when the time is right," he said.

Agencies