Here are excerpts of a taped message purporting to be from Ayman al-Zawahri, the second most prominent figure in al-Qaeda, calling on the people of Pakistan to overthrow their government. The tape was broadcast by the pan-Arab TV channel al-Jazeera.

Brother Muslims in Pakistan: May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.

In this message, I would like to clarify a number of facts, which the crusader-Jewish alliance - led by Bush, the [flag-]bearer of the crusade, who is backed by his aides, the servants of the crusaders and Jews, spearheaded by the traitor Pervez Musharraf - are trying to hide.

The first fact is that the frenzied crusader-Zionist campaign in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Chechnya basically targets Pakistan.

This is because the United States does not want Pakistan to be a distinguished power in Central Asia. Pakistan is a Muslim nation.

America, backed by the Jews, is determined to defeat the Muslim nation and make it surrender to their new world order.

After Musharraf played his dirty role in shedding the blood of thousands of Muslims in Afghanistan, the Americans began to give him more tasks, most important of which is the destruction of Pakistan.

To this end, he has drawn up several wicked plans, chief among which is strangling jihad in Kashmir and gradually giving up demanding Kashmir's right to achieve independence from India.

Another plan is to paralyse the Pakistani nuclear programme to enable the Americans to get acquainted with all its secrets, which will inevitably go to Israeli intelligence and, then, to Indian intelligence.

The third fact is that Musharraf seeks to stab the mujahid Islamic resistance in Afghanistan in the back.

The Muslim Pakistani people have extended a helping hand to their brethren the Afghan mujahidin and their supporters, including Arabs, Uzbek, Turks, Chechens, and Muslims from other nationalities.

The Pashtun tribes - which are free and lofty and which conquered India and defeated the British and the Russians - have given and still give the biggest support for the mujahidin in Afghanistan.

They were assisted in this honourable duty by the dear and kind Baluch tribes, which had sent heroes to support Islam.

Therefore, America commissioned Musharraf with the task of taking revenge on the border tribes...

So he began demolishing homes, making arrests, and killing innocent people in markets...

Call to rebel

I appeal to the Muslim Pakistani people to unite under the banner of Islam and to firmly demand the implementation of the shari'ah law...

Every Muslim in Pakistan must strive to topple this agent government, which will continue to surrender to the Americans until it destroys Pakistan and helps the Indians control it.

I appeal to the Pashtun and Baluch tribes on both sides of the border to champion the cause of God and His messenger and not to betray the history of their great ancestors...

I also appeal to the Pakistani army and say to it: O poor army, in what miserable situation did Musharraf put you?

The Indians are in front of you and behind you in Afghanistan.

Musharraf is destroying your natural shield; namely, the border tribes, by preoccupying you with fighting them.

At the same time, he deprives you of your nuclear weapon.

So, will you remain silent until Pakistan is divided again and until Pakistan falls down...?

I call on the ulema in Pakistan to do their duty, which God imposed on them...

They must uncover the truth of Musharraf, the traitor and the killer of Muslims.

They must instigate the nation to carry out jihad to expel the crusaders from Afghanistan and to explain to Muslims that it is prohibited to collaborate with the crusaders and Jews...

O Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan, O Muslim nation everywhere, stand fast, be patient, exercise perseverance, and remember Almighty God's words: Those who believe, fight in the cause of Allah, and those who reject faith, fight in the cause of evil: So fight ye against the friends of Satan: feeble indeed is the cunning of Satan [Koranic verse].

Translated from the original by BBC.