Zawahri criticises Pakistani govt in al Qaeda tape

Zawahri released an audio recording accusing the Pakistani government of responding too slowly to the floods.

DUBAI: Al Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahri released an audio recording on Wednesday accusing the Pakistani government of responding too slowly to severe flooding in the country and calling on Pakistanis to revolt.

Zawahri spoke in a 44-minute recording which appeared to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

"The primary concern of the ruling class in the government and army of Pakistan is filling their domestic and foreign bank accounts with dollars, and as far as they are concerned, Pakistan and its people can go to hell," he said.

Entitled “A Victorious Ummah, A Broken Crusade: Nine Years After the Start of the Crusader Campaign”, the recording was posted on a websites often used by al Qaeda.

Zawahri called on Pakistanis and Turkish Muslims to rise up against their government because of their involvement in Afghanistan.

“...The Muslim Turkish people must confront the behaviour of their government, which is participating in the Muslim-killing campaign in Afghanistan,” he said. “The same holds true for the government of Pakistan.”

Last year, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released an audio tape marking the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, but no such message has appeared from him so far this year.