Islamabad: As fighting raged on Afghan-Pak border, voices of opposition have started appearing internally with cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan attacking President Pervez Musharraf for doing America's "dirty work" and putting Pakistani troops at "risk" and "killing people" so that President George W Bush "can win elections".

Khan, who heads Tehreek-e-Insaaf party, also regretted supporting Musharraf immediately after he seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999 and said he had deviated from the "seven-point" agenda projected by the General which was accepted by people in the hope that it would change Pakistan.

"The Bush Government will say anything to support Gen Musharraf because Pakistan is doing its dirty work in the tribal areas, where it's killing its own people (and) its own soldiers are dying to pursue the mess made by Americans in Afghanistan," he told BBC World's Hardtalk Pakistan programme.

Maintaining that Musharraf was "putting our soldiers at risk, killing people" in the military operation, he said, "If there are any al-Qaeda people here, they are hiding in these caves, it is only a matter of time before they capture them."

"But why? Just so that he (Bush) can win elections, we send our troops there," Khan said fearing that there could be "a problem in the tribal area we would be lumbered with when the Americans are long gone".

"I would certainly not have gone on in the tribal area and done what US is doing just so that Bush can win his election," the renowned Pathan said.

On Musharraf's handling of the scandal over leaking of nuclear secrets, Khan questioned the President's locus standi of declaring that he would punish two scientists.

"Who is he to punish them? It is up to the judiciary. What about the right of defence (people have) to prove their innocence? I think this just smacks of dictatorship," he said, adding it has "harmed Pakistan".

The former Pakistan cricket captain said soon after Musharraf seized power the Pakistani people had seen him as an "intelligent, articulate man who gave the right message" in the country.

"Unfortunately, when Gen Musharraf went off that seven-point (agenda), by the time we realised that, it was another power struggle rather than a movement for change. It was too late," he said.