Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is rejecting accusations that Pakistani forces are helping Taleban rebels cross into Afghanistan and that Taleban leader Mullah Omar is living in the western city of Quetta.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, General Musharraf also rejected allegations by top U.S. intelligence official John Negroponte that senior al-Qaida leaders continue to operate from "secure hideouts" within Pakistan.
The president defended his efforts against terrorism, saying Pakistani forces have arrested 600 to 700 Taleban and al-Qaida members and sent tens of thousands of troops to the volatile Afghan border area.
Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Pakistan's Defense Ministry warned the recent cross-border killing of a Pakistani soldier, allegedly by NATO forces in Afghanistan, threatens the fight against terrorism.
The incident on Monday took place when coalition forces apparently fired on troops they thought were militants at a Pakistani border checkpoint.
Pakistan summoned both the U.S. and British ambassadors over the killing on Tuesday.
NATO officials in Afghanistan have said they carried out an airstrike on insurgents moving east toward the Pakistan border on Monday, but say the circumstances of the killing of the Pakistani soldier remain unclear.
Officials say they are continuing to investigate the incident.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
