Thursday, September 28 2006 12:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

London: Denying a charge in a British military policy paper that his country indirectly supports terrorism and extremism, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said he rejected it 'totally, 200 per cent'.

"I totally, 200 per cent, reject it," Musharraf told BBC in an interview yesterday.

According to the TV channel, the British Defence Ministry policy paper said "Indirectly, Pakistan, through the ISI, has been supporting terrorism and extremism, whether in London on 7/7 (the July 7, 2005 bombings on London's transport network) or in Afghanistan or Iraq." It said the paper by an unnamed senior Ministry official, linked to Britain's foreign intelligence service MI6 and part of a fact-finding mission to Pakistan in June, had been obtained by it.

The paper said military links between UK and Pakistani armed forces could be used to persuade Musharraf to step down, accept free elections, withdraw the army from civilian life and dismantle Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI.

"I would like to tell this Ministry of Defence spokesman to say the Ministry of Defence may be should be dismantled before the ISI is dismantled," Musharraf said.

He said the ISI was a "disciplined force, breaking the back of al-Qaeda...Getting 680 people would not be possible if our ISI was not doing an execellent job." Musharraf said he would take up the matter with British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he meets him in London which he is scheduled to visit on his way back from the US.

A spokeswoman for the Defence Ministry said "The academic research notes quoted in no way represent the views of either the MoD or the Government."