Ayman al-Zawahiri, second only to Osama bin Laden in al Qaeda's hierarchy, has released his first English-language video, calling for jihad in Pakistan.
In the message, aired on Pakistan's ARY television network, Zawahiri calls for the people to support jihad in Pakistan and lists a litany of grievances against the Pakistani government and United States involvement there.
He accuses Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf of being "thirsty for money and a bribe seeker", arguing that he is working to support US and Western interests and that he has committed crimes against Muslims throughout the world.
Zawahiri also describes Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's atomic bomb under house arrest for transferring nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, as a "scapegoat to appease the Americans".
"Let there be no doubt in your minds that the dominant political forces at work in Pakistan today are competing to appease and please the modern day Crusaders in the White House, and are working to destabilise this nuclear-capable nation under the aegis of America."
The Egyptian-born al Qaeda chief also relates his personal experiences of living in Pakistan in an apparent attempt to build a rapport with the Pakistani people. He says he picked English because he "wants to speaks directly to the Pakistani people and chose English because he cannot speak Urdu".
Mr Musharraf is under mounting pressure to quit as his allies join ruling coalition calls for him to go before impeachment proceedings for allegedly mismanaging the country.
Mr Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 military coup, ruled Pakistan relatively untroubled for several years with the backing of the US. But his popularity slumped after he ousted the country's chief justice and imposed a state of emergency in November 2007 to prevent any challenges to his re-election as president.
Mr Musharraf later stepped down as army chief, and the parties of Asif Ali Zardari Zardari - the widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto - and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif subsequently trounced his allies in elections in February.
