Al-Qaida No. 2: US threatens Pakistan’s destiny

CAIRO – Al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader warned the Pakistani people in a new audio message that the U.S. interference in their country’s affairs poses a grave danger to Pakistan’s future and very existence.

The English-language audio message by Ayman al-Zawahiri was dated July 14 and addressed to “my Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan.”

In it, the militant group’s second-in-command called on Pakistanis to join the fight against the United States or support the battle financially.

He warned that without that help “we shall not only contribute to the destruction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we shall also deserve the painful punishment of Almighty Allah.”

The tape, whose authenticity could not immediately be verified, was released by the al-Qaida media wing As-Sahab and was posted on Islamic Web sites that usually carry militant videos and statements.

Al-Zawahiri and al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden are rumored to be hiding in Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan.

The Taliban have thrived in that region and some Taliban commanders maintain links to al-Qaida.

Al-Zawahiri, who had addressed the Pakistani people in English in August last year, said Pakistan is really ruled by the United States.

He said “the only hope to save Pakistan from this disastrous fate is Jihad” because the political institutions were “either sunk in the swamp of corruption or are too helplessly crippled and paralyzed to bring about any change.”

Stressing the need for money, al-Zawahiri called on people to join the fight and contribute money.

“It is the individual duty of every Muslim in Pakistan to join the Mujahedeen, or at the very least, to support the Jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan with money,” he said.