In his first interview since the arrest of Abu Faraj al-Liby, Al-Qaeda's alleged number three, earlier this month, General Musharraf said: 'We have broken their back. They cease to exist as a cohesive, homogenous body under good command and control, vertical and horizontal.'

Some European security experts have been sceptical about al-Liby's importance, but General Musharraf said his capture was 'very significant' and that it had led to other key arrests in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Not number 3, but Al Qaeda 'flotsam'

'He is the man who was in charge of Al Qaeda [Images] operations, internal and external and, of course, on a personal basis the man who masterminded the suicide attacks on me,' Musharraf told The Financial Times.

'Whatever they are now capable of doing is individual and group actions divorced from central command and co-ordinated centrally. They are on the run in the mountains, not in contact with each other,' he said.

However, he said, the al-Liby arrest had failed to produce any clues to Osama bin Laden's whereabouts.

Musharraf also called for 'maximum punishment' for any US soldiers found guilty of desecrating the Quran at a Guant�namo Bay interrogation centre in Cuba.

No Quran abuse, says US

In the exclusive interview, Musharraf also said he was adamant about a gas pipeline from Iran, despite US reservations.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [Images] has warned the countries against proceeding with the pipeline, and State Department officials say it could expose both India and Pakistan to US sanctions, said The Financial Times report.

Asserting that a decision on the pipeline would be taken by the year end based solely on Pakistan's national interest, Musharraf told the newspaper: 'We are short of energy. We want gas immediately. Our industry is suffering; investment coming to Pakistan is suffering, so Pakistan's interest is to get gas fast. Iran is the fastest source.'

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