Al-Qaida is urging the people of Pakistan to follow the example of Muslims in Egypt and Tunisia and revolt.
The call-to-arms comes in a 10-minute video posted on the Internet Friday and reviewed by the counter-terrorism company IntelCenter. In it, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri tells Pakistanis to "rise up in the face of this bribe-taking government... these treacherous generals."
Addressing Pakistani Muslims, Zawahiri says Pakistan's government has "spilled the blood of Muslims in Afghanistan and Pakistan to fill the pockets of its leadership" and "will not fight in your defense."
He also says al-Qaida will not release Warren Weinstein, a kidnapped American development expert who had been living in Pakistan, until its demands are met.
IntelCenter says the video message appears to have been produced in February.
Al-Qaida also released a video last month voicing support for the Syrian uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. In it, Zawahiri called on Muslims from neighboring countries to aid Syrian anti-government rebels.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
