Washington, March 15 (IANS) India and Pakistan must end their confrontation and 'go for peace', former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has said.

'We must stop this confrontation between India and Pakistan... We must go for peace for the sake of the world, because the world considers us to be a nuclear flashpoint,' Seattle Times quoted him as saying at a press conference in the city Sunday.

Denying that Pakistan had supported terrorist activity in India, he accused it of 'hyper reactions' after the 26/11 Mumbai carnage that India blames on Pakistani terrorists.

Musharraf also accused India of supporting terrorism in Pakistan, including in Balochistan province, where rebels have begun a secessionist movement.

Musharraf has been on an extended lecture tour of the US in Europe since stepping down in August 2008 after being threatened with impeachment for declaring an emergency Nov 3, 2007.

His visit to Seattle prompted more than 70 protesters to gather early Sunday evening outside the Westin Hotel in Bellevue where he spoke after the press conference.

One sign read 'Dictator Not Welcome,' while others read, 'Stand for Peace' and 'Mister Commando is on the Run'.

'My biggest concern is that he was a dictator and now he is getting this welcome in America,' Seattle Times quoted Agha Khan, a Microsoft software engineer at the protest, as saying.

Responding to a question on his return to Pakistan, Musharraf said he would do so if the people wanted him and if he believed he had enough support to make a contribution.

'If I have to just go there and join a political fray and be involved in accusations and counter-accusations ... like most of the politicians are doing...I am not interested in that kind of politics,' he maintained.

Musharraf became Pakistan's head of state in 1999 during a bloodless military coup, but he said any return to power would be through a democratic process. He was an ally of President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and was forced to resign in 2008.

Speaking later to an audience of several hundred largely Pakistani Americans in Bellevue, Musharraf said the Taliban's brand of Islamic extremism poses a serious threat to the nation.

'We need to ask ourselves, do we or don't we want a Taliban/al-Qaida culture in Pakistan ... because every action then flows from that decision,' he contended.