Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud has said that his radical organisation does not pose a threat to Islamabad's nuclear arsenal, pointedly describing the US as the real danger to the atomic warheads in the Islamic nation.

Mehsud, the commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told Al Jazeera television it is Washington that is the real danger as it has used atomic weapons against humanity.

In an interview held in an undisclosed location in North West Frontier Province, Mehsud appeared with his face covered and spoke about the formation of the Taliban movement in Pakistan.

Mehsud was appointed by Taliban chief Mullah Omar as the commander of the Pakistani Taliban.

Mehsud, who has been named by the government as the main suspect behind Benazir Bhutto's assassination, called on Pakistanis to join the Taliban to damage the interests of the US, Britain and their allies who were violating the country’s sovereignty.

“We have formed this united movement with the motive of a defensive jehad,” he told Al Jazeera television, which telecast the interview on Friday on its Arabic channel.

Meanwhile, according to a news report, Taliban chief Mullah Omar has removed Mehsud as the commander of TTP for fighting the Pakistani army.

Asia Times Online quoted Mullah Omar as telling other Taliban commanders to turn their focus on NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan even as President Pervez Musharraf has ordered intensified military operations against the pro-Taliban militants in South Waziristan.

Mehsud was expected to provide support to the Taliban in Afghanistan, but instead, directed all his fighters against Pakistani security forces. Omar has sacked Mehsud for fighting against the Pakistan Army instead of the NATO forces, said the report of the Hong Kong-based website.