ISLAMABAD, March 7: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday said that the capture of Al Qaeda terror suspect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed should silence those who say Pakistan is not doing enough in the global war against terrorism.

In an interview with CNN the president dispelled the impression and said the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed last weekend was further confirmation of Pakistan’s commitment to the fight against terrorism.

“This is a further confirmation of our commitment to acting against terrorism, I think we apprehended more than 480 people, nobody has apprehended so many,” he told the American Cable News Network.

The president praised the Pakistani intelligence for the arrest.

“It goes to the credit of our intelligence organization, ISI, their effectiveness, the success of their actions and they must be given credit.”

Replying to a question on the media impression about Pakistan’s going slow he said, “I don’t know who is talking about it that Pakistan is dragging its feet and Pakistan is going slow — these kinds of views are expressed in the media and not in the official circles of the United States or anywhere in the world.”

About the capture of Khalid Shaikh the president said, Pakistani intelligence had been following him for almost a month.

“We had been following him when he was moving around in Pakistan. Finally it was through electronic means that we got him.”

He told the channel that President Bush in a telephone call last evening thanked him profusely for Pakistan’s efforts in the fight against terror.

On Iraq, the president said Pakistan stands for itself and is looking forward to Hans Blix’s report.

“Whether the Blix report declares Iraq in material breach and violative of resolution 1441 or not, or it is neutral, wants more time, each one of these possibilities leads to different conclusions. —APP