New York, Sept 27 (NNN-APP) Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf says the resolution of the Palestine issue is imperative to strike at the core of terrorism as its settlement will have effects everywhere in curbing extremism, which breeds terrorism.

He said new fronts like Lebanon and Iraq have further complicated the anti-terror campaign. "We should address the Palestinian issue first; that will create effects everywhere else, including in the war on terrorism and extremism," he said.

Speaking at the formal launch of his autobiography, 'In the Line of Fire - A Memoir',
President Musharraf said the world must understand the environment and address extremism and terrorism in their entire complexity.

Assessing the situation in response to a question, he said that using the instrument of military alone is not enough to combat terrorism and said it was imperative to address extremism, which is the source of the menace. "Extremism is a source that spawns terrorism and we need a different strategy to address it holistically," he added.

Furthermore, the president said that while talk of terrorism previously meant al-Qaeda, the Taliban had sprung up as a new phenomenon and introduced another element, Talibanization, which is a way of obscurantist thought.

"So we need to understand the situation in its entire complexity. We need to see the environment in the world in the region and in the respective countries and address the core issues through a well- thought out strategy and implement it."
He dismissed as absolutely wrong suggestions that Taliban were perhaps operating from Quetta in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and said their leader Mullah Omar was leading the radical militia from southern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, President Musharraf has reaffirmed his commitment to hunt down Osama bin Laden, but said he could not confirm reports that the al-Qaeda leader died last month of typhoid in Pakistan.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Dallas Morning News in Highland Park, Texas, where he paid a brief visit on Saturday for a routine medical check up, he said he was aware of a French intelligence report of bin Laden's death, but could not comment on its details.