ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Braving noisy opposition protests in parliament, President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday vowed to further strengthen country's nuclear and missile deterrent while pursuing the goal of a moderate, welfare Islamic state.

In his first address to a joint session of parliament, the president also called for a Jihad against extremism that he said was one of four "dangerous allegations" facing the country, and urged parliamentarians to prove themselves worthy of shouldering important responsibilities.

The other such allegations cited by him were militants operations in Afghanistan, cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and nuclear weapons proliferation.

The president said Pakistan had to counter these "negative impressions" by fighting foreign elements operating from its tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, seeking a peaceful, just solution of the Kashmir dispute and assuring the world that Islamabad would not allow nuclear proliferation.

While stressing the necessity of a strong defence and a strong economy to tackle problems facing Pakistan, he spoke of the need to improve upon country's nuclear and missile deterrent.

"We have not only to maintain this capability but have to strengthen it further," he said, and added: "For the sake of security and existence of Pakistan this necessary asset cannot be ignored."

While members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and its allied parties opposing Gen Musharraf's presidency stood up in their seats and kept shouting protest slogans throughout his 30-minute speech, those of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal parties walked out to protest against what they called his pro-US policies.

However, members of the ruling coalition led by the PML-Q repeatedly cheered the president's pronouncements by thumping their desks.

The president, who was wearing an off-white Sherwani, appeared unruffled by constant slogan-chanting which made his speech hardly audible, except for those who used headphones or ear-phones fixed to the desks.

Gen Musharraf raised both his clenched fists as he looked towards the opposition before leaving the house after the joint sitting was prorogued at the end of his speech, which came following a delay of about a year.

Those who watched the proceedings from the galleries included armed forces' chiefs, provincial governors and chief ministers and foreign ambassadors. National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain and Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro flanked the president as he sat at the rostrum.

The president began his speech by offering thanks to God for what he called the "fulfilment of all promises" he had made to the nation, including the establishment of "true democracy", and to members of parliament and provincial assemblies for condemning last month's two suicide bomb attacks against him and for giving him a vote of confidence on the new year day.

He blamed corruption and nepotism for the failure of the country and said past governments could not make use of vast national resources and capabilities for development and prosperity, and added that Pakistan now stood at crossroads where right decisions could put it on the path of progress and wrong could bring disaster.

DANGEROUS ALLEGATIONS: "Pakistan is today facing four dangerous allegations," the president said, listing them as alleged responsibility for "spreading terrorism from tribal areas to Afghanistan", "cross-border terrorism" in Kashmir, proliferation of nuclear weapons and an impression of our society as being intolerant.

"Besides these negative impressions, the Muslim Ummah, of which Pakistan is an important member, is faced with difficulties and confusion and Islam is being projected as a religion of extremism," he said.

The president said Pakistan had to take long-term and important decisions to take the country to a "shining and glorious" future or "the posterity would pay a heavy price of our negligence and Allah Almighty will also never forgive us".

"We have to extricate Pakistan from the crisis of negative impressions and put it on the path of development and prosperity while playing an active role for the welfare of the Muslim Ummah," he said.

As a means to counter negative impressions, the president said Pakistan would have to take "action with full force from our border areas" against "foreign elements who may become the cause of terrorism in our country and in Afghanistan".

"A peaceful and just solution of Kashmir (dispute) is the only way to deal with allegations against us vis-a-vis Kashmir," the president said.

"The progress made in this respect has to be taken towards a solution with sincerity and in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris," he said in a reference to his agreement with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee earlier this month for a resumption of "composite dialogue" between the two countries in February.

"Our nuclear and missile deterrent is for the defence of Pakistan and it is in our interest to strengthen it," the president said, but added: "We have to assure the world that we are a responsible nation and will not allow a proliferation of nuclear weapons."

Gen Musharraf blamed that only a few people who could be counted for extremism, which, he said, existed in two forms and was eating into the vitals of our country.

On the one hand, he said, ultra-modern westernised people wanted to eliminate the religious system while, on the other, extremists misinterpreting Islam sought to impose their narrow views on all. "The reality is that the vast majority of the country's population consists of moderates who are attached to religion but reject extremism," he added.

"I appeal to you and people of Pakistan to launch a Jihad against extremism so that Pakistan could be made a moderate, truly Islamic welfare state in accordance with the spirit of religion as the Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal had wished."

"We have to make it certain that any person or group involved in sectarianism and terrorism are eliminated from Pakistan for good," the president said.

He said the success of the strategy to counter the dangers and crisis facing the country would entirely depend on the country's defence and economic strength.

ULTERIOR MOTIVES: The president said Pakistan was proud of its armed forces for always playing an important role in the defence as well as development of the country, but regretted that "some elements with ulterior motives try to malign the army and other institutions."

"They do not understand that maligning these national institutions is in fact maligning Pakistan," he said.

The president said the country's economy had been strengthened as indicated by "all positive macroeconomic indicators", but stressed that the situation must be improved further by limiting budget deficit to less than four per cent, maintaining the balance of payments surplus, reducing foreign debts and increasing exports, foreign exchange reserves, remittances of overseas Pakistan and tax revenues.

The president said steps taken to establish true democracy would have to be continued and called the recently passed 17th amendment as a system of checks and balance that would prevent imposition of martial law in the future and ensure completion of the terms of legislatures.

But he called the establishment of a national security council as essential for further strengthening this system and said he was confident that members of parliament would display the same sense of responsibility as they did when passing the 17th amendment.

He particularly thanked the PML-Q, its allies and the MMA for settling the controversy over the Legal Framework Order "in the larger interest of the country and the nation".