The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Washington

The United States Thursday dismissed a call by Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden for holy war against Pervez Musharraf's government and pledged to work closely with ally Pakistan to confront extremism.

"He can threaten whoever he wants," State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. "We are going to continue to work with Pakistan, as well as with our other friends and allies throughout the world, to confront him and make sure that we keep ourselves and our friends safe from atack from him and those like him."

In an audio recording released Thursday, bin Laden said Al- Qaeda intended to retaliate for the blood spilled by "champions of Islam."

"It is obligatory on the Muslims in Pakistan to carry out jihad (holy war) and fighting to remove Pervez, his government, his army and those who help him," said the voice in the tape, produced by the terror network's media arm As-Sahab and monitored by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Earlier this month, a bin Laden video was released to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the September 11 atacks on the United States in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.

"I guess it's shocking that Osama bin Laden doesn't like countries working together to confront the kind of radical extremism and perversion of Islam that he represents," Casey said, with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I don't think it changes at all our cooperation or our desire to work with President Musharraf and the people and government of Pakistan to confront Al-Qaeda and confront extremism in that country," he said. The threat from bin Laden was also dismissed by Pakistan. "We are already commited to fighting extremists and terrorists-there is no change in our policy," chief military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad told AFP in Islamabad.

"If someone is hurling threats at us, that is their view. The whole nation is behind us and the Pakistan Army is a national institution," Arshad added.