ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: Pakistan on Friday rejected a US intelligence official’s statement that Al Qaeda was still active in Pakistan and reminded that in breaking the back of Al Qaeda, the country had done more than any other in the world.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said: “It is also a fact that there are Al Qaeda elements active in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, as Mr Negroponte has said but it would be incorrect to link them to any remnants of Al Qaeda in Pakistan.”

Hitting back at the US official, the spokesperson said: “When Mr Negroponte mentions the capture and killing of hundreds of Al Qaeda members since 9/11, he should acknowledge the efforts of the country that made this possible.”

Noting that Pakistan’s key role in breaking the back of Al Qaeda was acknowledged and praised by the international community, including the US leadership, she said Pakistan continued to pursue these remnants as well as other terrorists and extremist elements.

Reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to fighting international terrorism and extremism, she said: “In this endeavour, the focus must always remain on cooperation instead of questionable criticism.”

In this context she mentioned the “positive statement” by head of International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan General David Richards, on Thursday.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao also rejected Mr Negroponte’s statement and said Al Qaeda network had been completely shattered in the country and that the United States had backed Pakistan’s plan to stop cross-border movement of terrorists along its border with Afghanistan.

"The US supports Pakistan’s point of view over border security," the minister said at a press conference after meeting US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher who had called on him here.Referring to Mr Negroponte’s statement, he said: "Such statements have been coming for a long time … but it is a fact that Pakistan … has ‘marginalised’ Al Qaeda to the maximum extent."

Mr Sherpao said: "We will never allow anybody to use our soil for terrorism," he added.

He said: “Mr Boucher has appreciated Pakistan’s efforts in controlling cross-border movement of terrorists on our border with Afghanistan."

The Inter-Services Public Relations reacted strongly to Mr Negroponte’s remarks and said the United States had not given Pakistan any information about the presence of Al Qaeda leaders.

“We have no such information nor has any such thing been communicated to us by any US authority,” military spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan said.

Reuters adds: Mr Negroponte told the US Senate on Thursday the Al Qaeda terror network “is strengthening and building worldwide connections from its safe haven in Pakistan”.

Al Qaeda “is the terrorist organisation that poses the greatest threat” to the United States, Mr Negroponte said.

“We have captured or killed numerous senior Al Qaeda operatives, but Al Qaeda's core elements are resilient,” he said.

The terrorists are “cultivating stronger operational connections and relationships that radiate outward from their leaders’ secure hideout in Pakistan to affiliates throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Europe,” he said.

Mr Negroponte praised Pakistan as “a frontline partner in the war on terror” that has captured several Al Qaeda leaders.

“Nevertheless, it remains a major source of (Muslim) extremism and the home stop for some top terrorist leaders … Many of our most important interests intersect in Pakistan, where the Taliban and Al Qaeda maintain critical sanctuaries,” Mr Negroponte said.