Launching a blistering attack on the country's extremist Islamic groups, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said they pose a greater threat to Pakistan's integrity as compared to foreign ultras.

"Foreign militants do not pose as much a threat to Pakistan's integrity as religious extremists as they are involved in politics of hatred," he said on Tuesday said while addressing the armed forces in Sargodha.

He said the services and skills of Pakistanis ensured the country is protected from an external aggression but religious organisations were engaged in doing harm to the country through their activities.

"Pakistan came into existence in the name of Islam and remains a fortress of Islam," local daily Dawn quoted Musharraf as saying.

He questioned the relevance of striking extremist postures in the name of religion.

Musharraf's scathing comments on extremist groups follow a decision by the Pakistani government to crack down on banned militant groups, which were functioning after changing their names.

In another development, US State Department on Wednesday said the terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir was 'fueled by infiltration from Pakistan', and threatened to become a flashpoint for a wider India-Pakistan conflict during most of last year.