ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that he and all Pakistanis were grieved over the death of United States journalist Daniel Pearl and that “the murder has not only defamed Pakistan but also the religion of Islam.”

Talking to Pakistan Television, he said the act would “strengthen further our resolve and we will try our best to tackle terrorism severely.”

The president condoled with the wife and family of the slain journalist and with the journalists and editors of the Wall Street Journal.

He said: “Nothing can more malign Islam than a person who calls himself Muslim, claims his link with an Islamic organisation and then commits murder.”

He assured the international community that he and the government would strive hard to eliminate terrorism from the country. He said that if anyone thought that his government would stray from its course, then those elements were mistaken.

Gen Musharraf said many of the persons who had committed the murder had been apprehended.

“The Government will make all efforts to arrest the remaining culprits and give them the harshest punishment to teach a lesson to those involved in terrorist acts in the country,” he added.—APP