An image grab taken from a video broadcast on Al-Jazeera television 23 January 2007 shows Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri speaking in an online video message. Al-Qaeda's second-in-command defiantly mocked in the 15-minute recording US President George W. Bush's plan to send extra troops to Iraq, saying he should send his entire army to be annihilated. Osama bin Laden's Egyptian-born deputy also accused the United States of being behind the deployment of Ethiopian troops in Somalia and vowed that Islamist forces would 'break the back' of the Ethiopians. AFP PHOTO/AL-JAZEERA/AS-SAHAB -- QATAR OUT -- (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
Photograph by: Photo courtesy of Al-Jazeera/As-Sahab , AFP/Getty Images
DUBAI - Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Pakistanis to revolt against their government and military in a video posted on the Internet on Friday, U.S. monitors said.
In a 10-minute speech uploaded to jihadist forums, Zawahiri argued that the Pakistani authorities only represented U.S. interests, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group.
Zawahiri, shown standing in front of a green curtain, urged Pakistanis to follow the example of the Arab Spring as the military could not be expected to turn against America despite a deadly US strike on Pakistani troops in November.
"O our brothers in Pakistan! O our people in Pakistan! This treacherous army and bribe-taking government have plundered your wealth," he said in the video.
"They have ruined your economy and destroyed your world as well as your hereafter. What then are you waiting for?
"Take a lead from your brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria who are standing up against oppression and oppressors with their bare chests exposed and offering sacrifices so that victory may be ordained for then."
Zawahiri also said that unless its demands were met, al-Qaida would not release an elderly American development expert who was captured in Pakistan last August.
"By the grace of Allah, we, on our part, have captured the American Jew Warren Weinstein.
"He will not return to his family, by the will of Allah, until our demands are met, which include the release of Aafia Siddiqui, Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the family of Shaikh Osama bin Laden, and every single person arrested on allegations of links with al-Qaida and Taliban."
Long al-Qaida's number two, Zawahiri took over the helm of the group after Bin Laden was killed in May 2011 in a U.S. special forces night raid deep in Pakistan.
The video is the latest of a number in which the militant chief has attempted to exploit the Arab uprisings.
al-Qaida has been absent from the popular protests that swept the Arab world last year, leading to the ouster of autocratic, secular leaders in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, and sparking unrest elsewhere.
In a 10-minute speech uploaded to jihadist forums, Zawahiri argued that the Pakistani authorities only represented U.S. interests, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group.
Zawahiri, shown standing in front of a green curtain, urged Pakistanis to follow the example of the Arab Spring as the military could not be expected to turn against America despite a deadly US strike on Pakistani troops in November.
"O our brothers in Pakistan! O our people in Pakistan! This treacherous army and bribe-taking government have plundered your wealth," he said in the video.
"They have ruined your economy and destroyed your world as well as your hereafter. What then are you waiting for?
"Take a lead from your brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria who are standing up against oppression and oppressors with their bare chests exposed and offering sacrifices so that victory may be ordained for then."
Zawahiri also said that unless its demands were met, al-Qaida would not release an elderly American development expert who was captured in Pakistan last August.
"By the grace of Allah, we, on our part, have captured the American Jew Warren Weinstein.
"He will not return to his family, by the will of Allah, until our demands are met, which include the release of Aafia Siddiqui, Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the family of Shaikh Osama bin Laden, and every single person arrested on allegations of links with al-Qaida and Taliban."
Long al-Qaida's number two, Zawahiri took over the helm of the group after Bin Laden was killed in May 2011 in a U.S. special forces night raid deep in Pakistan.
The video is the latest of a number in which the militant chief has attempted to exploit the Arab uprisings.
al-Qaida has been absent from the popular protests that swept the Arab world last year, leading to the ouster of autocratic, secular leaders in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, and sparking unrest elsewhere.
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