Al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Pakistanis to join a jihad, or holy war, in revenge for the attack by Pakistan's army on a radical mosque.
Ayman al-Zawahri's 4 minutes and 24 address was entitled "The Aggression against Lal Masjid" and entirely focused on clashes between Islamic students and Pakistan's army at the mosque.
The video was released by al-Qaeda's multimedia branch, as-Sahab. Its authenticity could not immediately be confirmed, but two US-based terrorism monitoring groups also reported it.
"Muslims of Pakistan: your salvation is only through Jihad," or holy war, al-Zawahri said in the video, which was subtitled in English.
"Rigged elections will not save you, politics will not save you, and bargaining, bootlicking, negotiations with the criminals, and political maneuvers will not save you," a bespectacled and white-clad al-Zawahri said.
"Musharraf and his hunting dogs have rubbed your honor in the dirt in the service of the Crusaders and the Jews," he said.