Islamabad  - Pakistan's former military ruler and president Pervez Musharraf on Monday condemned what he called propaganda against Pakistan's army and its prime Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), saying propaganda would harm international efforts against terrorism.

"If Pakistan's army or the ISI were weakened due to certain conspiracies, the international community would lose the war on terror," the former strong man told reporters while holding a cigar in a televised press talk and looking relaxed in his informal outfit.

In his first extensive interaction with local media since he was ousted last August, Musharraf rejected what he called allegations leveled by New York Times journalist David E Sanger that ISI officers have helped the Taliban with major attacks in Afghanistan.

"Get your facts right," he urged Sanger in his typically assertive tone, a hallmark of his style whenever he strongly disapproved of something during his nine years of rule.

Sanger's book, The Inheritance, claims that the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency (NSA) learned through wiretaps of Pakistani generals that Musharraf was playing a double game with the Americans.

On the one hand, he was assuring them that he was against Taliban. But, at the same time, he was supporting the militants.

"Musharraf's record of duplicity was well known," wrote Sanger in his book, according to a report published in Pakistan's English- language daily The News.

The former military dictator, who ruled the country for around nine years after he took over in military coup in 1999, was ousted by the new civilian government in August
2008. He rejected Sanger's claims.

"How I can show leniency towards elements who tried to kill me and attacked our army and intelligence agencies," he said, lashing out at Sanger. Musharaff was referring to three assassination attempts by al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants that were launched after he chose to support US efforts against terrorism following the September
11, 2001 terror attacks.

The retired general still lives under tight security provided by the civilian and military agencies.

There is no truth to the allegation, and there is a campaign going on to malign Pakistan Army and ISI, Musharraf said. dpa