Al Qaeda tape calls for Pakastani overthrow of Musharraf

By Sara B. Miller - Christian Science Monitor - September 29, 2003
Al Qaeda tape slams Pakistan

The CIA continued Monday to analyze the authenticity of a new audiotape attributed to Al Qaeda that calls on Pakistanis to overthrow their president because of the country's continued collaboration with the United States.

The speaker on the tape, purportedly Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, charges that General Pervez Musharraf betrayed Islam by helping the US topple the Taliban in Afghanistan. The tape, which aired on the Arab satellite television stations Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya Sunday night, urged Pakistanis to replace their president with a leader who would do more to defend Islam and Muslims.

"[Mr. Musharraf] is the one who enabled America to end the Islamic emirate in Afghanistan. Without him, America would not have been able to do that. He ... knows he cannot remain in power without the crusader's consent." The tape also accuses Musharraf of planning to send troops to Iraq, so that Pakistanis will be killed there rather than American soldiers.

Pakistan rejected Mr. al-Zawahiri's threats against their leader on Monday and said the country will continue to play its part in the fight against terrorism. "Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization and Pakistan's war on terrorism and pursuit of terrorists will continue despite these threats," Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan told China's Xinhua Online.

Mr. Khan said the tape's allegations were misplaced and deliberately designed to mislead the Pakistani people and the Islamic world, but added the antiterror effort has made Pakistan more vulnerable.

Musharraf remains unpopular among hardline Muslims in Pakistan for cooperating with the US to unseat the Taliban, and for participating in America's war on terrorism.

The largest Muslim party in Pakistan, Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), has campaigned aggressively against Musharraf, but dismissed the tape as violent. "We do not subscribe to al-Zawahiri's or anyone else's views," JI senator Khurshid Ahmed told Hindustan Times.

"We have strong differences with Musharraf's policies and are democratically trying to influence him to bring a change. We have our own strategy of Islamic restructuring and it is through power of the ballot and a democratic struggle," Mr. Ahmed said.

Al Jazeera received the message on the new audiotape by telephone from Pakistan on Sunday. "An anonymous caller from Pakistan contacted us to offer Ayman al-Zawahiri's message," Al Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout told India's Sify News. "The message was recorded by telephone and broadcast immediately."

It is unclear when the audiotape was made, but the recorded remarks included many references to recent events, such as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to India earlier this month and the September 6 resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

The tape also accused the US of trying to abolish Islam. "The crusade camp that is led by America ... is targeting Islam and Muslims, even if it claims that it is fighting terrorism. ... This campaign is seeking to abolish Islam as a doctrine and a law," the voice said.

The speaker decried the US-led "crusade movement" that wants "the Muslim world to be controlled by the world's powers in Washington, Tel Aviv, and London" and urged Muslims to resist "this Jewish-Christian crusade."

The outburst against Musharraf was similar to attacks on the Pakistani leader in another audiotape attributed to al-Zawahiri, aired by Al Jazeera, on the eve of the second anniversary of 9/11. That tape also showed video of Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, while a speaker promised more attacks comparable or worse than ones on the world trade towers.

The speaker on the most recent tape said that without Pakistan's support, the US would not have managed to overthrow the regime in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001. "They would not have managed to kill thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan. ... Those innocent people were killed by the hands of Musharraf." The United States supports Musharraf because he "recognizes Israel," the speaker said, and because he is willing to send Pakistani troops into Iraq.

Khan told reporters Monday that Pakistan will remain undeterred in its effort to oust Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border, despite the threats. He called on all forces on both sides of the border to coordinate more effectively to eradicate all terrorist remnants in the region.