Musharraf, a key US ally in the "war on terror", is under pressure to wipe out militants who launch attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan from the rugged tribal belt.

"Al-Qaeda are definitely there, some in tribal agencies of South and North Waziristan and Bajaur. They are hiding and they are attacked whenever there is intelligence about their presence," Musharraf told private Geo television.

The president shrugged off a recent call for jihad or holy war against him by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, saying he did not fear death as he had narrowly escaped several assassination attempts and was an experienced soldier himself.

"I have seen death very closely several times. Allah saved me. Our entire training is jihad and it is jihad versus jihad, I have fought wars and seen bullets," Musharraf said.

Musharraf, who has deployed around 90,000 troops along the rugged frontier with Afghanistan to check militants, said al-Qaeda had not regrouped in the area as claimed by some outside observers. "Some say they have safe havens, you can say hide outs, because haven means sanctuary," he said.

Musharraf said terrorism and extremism were a "serious threat" to Pakistan and that fighting them was in its own interest.