On a visit to Mexico, Musharraf defended his country's record in the US-led war on terror and said Pakistan had arrested 600 al-Qaeda militants since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

al-Qaeda militants, who Washington holds responsible for the attacks, fled to Pakistan after US-led forces entered Afghanistan in late 2001.

Many are thought to have taken shelter in Pakistani tribal regions near the Afghan border, or have slipped into major cities after fleeing the US hunt for them in Afghanistan.

"We have sorted them out in the cities; all the big wigs of al-Qaeda caught by Pakistan alone," Musharraf said.

"So anyone who thinks that Pakistan is not doing anything on terrorism: if Pakistan is not doing anything, then no one in the world is doing anything," Musharraf said.

"All the big names: who caught them? Pakistan caught them, 600 of them."

The Pakistani president said his country had crushed al-Qaeda's operational and logistics bases. "They are on the run in small pockets. We have broken their back in Pakistan."

The United States recognizes Pakistan as a key ally in its war on terror against al-Qaeda and its leader bin Laden who is believed to be hiding in a remote part of Pakistan or in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials say they do not believe Washington's most wanted man is in Pakistan.

Musharraf was in Mexico to meet President Vicente Fox and business leaders to promote trade.