Islamabad, March 7, SPA -- President General Pervez Musharraf says it is in Pakistan's national interest to fight terrorism and extremism and that by doing so his government isn't doing the US or the international community any favour for which it should be rewarded. During a chat with editors, the president shrugged off allegations of "collateral damage" in the war against terror, arguing that it was minimal given the nature of the conflict in Waziristan, Pakistan's tribal region. Musharraf rebutted a suggestion that the focus on the war against terror by his regime was misplaced. "How can we not focus on terrorism or not talk about it when the ground reality is that there are terrorists in Pakistan who are giving the country a bad name", he asked, clearly suggesting that the terrorists were hurting Pakistan rather than the war against terrorism.--more 13 36 Local Time 10 36 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/337576