Cairo - An audio tape purportedly by al-Qaeda's second-in- command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released Wednesday urged Pakistanis to fight the United States and to back Islamist militants. "It is the individual duty of every Muslim in Pakistan to join the mujahideen, or at the very least, to support the jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan with money, advice, expertise, information, communications, shelter and anything else he can offer," al-Zawahiri said, according to a transcript of the tape posted on the website of the US-based NEFA Foundation.
Addressing his "Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan," al- Zawahiri accused the US of leading "a crusade" to turn Pakistan from a Muslim nuclear power into a divided nation.
"The blatant American crusader interference in Pakistan's affairs, or to be precise, the American crusader manipulation of Pakistan's destiny, has reached such an extent that it now poses a grave danger to Pakistan's future and very existence," he said.
In the message, produced by the pro-al-Qaeda production house al- Sahab and posted on several al-Qaeda linked websites, al-Qaeda's Egyptian-born deputy leader said that if people did not support "jihad" they would face punishment from God.
"If we stand by passively without offering due support to the Mujahideen," al-Zawahiri said, "We shall not only contribute to the destruction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we shall also deserve the painful punishment of Almighty Allah."
The Pakistani military is fighting Taliban militants in the north of the country, and the US is targeting militant leaders with missile attacks.
Last month, al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden accused US President Barack Obama of waging a war against Muslims in Pakistan that he said would only produce more anger toward Washington.
In August, al-Zawahiri released his first English-language audio tape, criticizing Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying he "insulted and compromised Pakistan's sovereignty by allowing the CIA and the FBI to operate freely in Pakistan."
In 1999, an Egyptian military court sentenced al-Zawahiri and his brother, Mohammed, to death in absentia for their role in attacks in Egypt anti-Egyptian government attacks in the 1990s.
The United States has offered a reward of up to 25 million dollars for information about his whereabouts.
