Osama bin Laden called on Pakistani Muslims to wage a holy war against President Musharraf yesterday in a message that could herald a new wave of violence in Pakistan.

It was the first time that the al-Qaeda leader, who is thought to be hiding in Pakistan, has made such an explicit threat against General Musharraf, a key ally of the United States in the War on Terror.

The video message, entitledCome to Jihad, features an audio recording of bin Laden urging Pakistanis to avenge the killing of a radical cleric during the storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July. “We in [the] al-Qaeda organisation call on Allah to witness that we will retaliate for the blood of Maulana Abd al-Rashid Ghazi,” he says. “Pervez [Musharraf], his ministers, his soldiers and those who help him are all accomplices in spilling the blood of those of the Muslims who have been killed. He who helps him knowingly and willingly is an infidel like him.”

Other al-Qaeda leaders have made similar threats before, but the timing has raised fears of an upsurge in militant attacks as Pakistan wrestles with its worst political crisis in eight years.

Al-Qaeda released the tape as October 6 was announced as the date for the presidential election in which General Musharraf will run as head of the army, despite opposition protests.

It follows a spate of abductions and increasingly bold attacks on troops in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where US officials believe that bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders are sheltering.

There was no immediate response from General Musharraf, who seized power in 1999 and allied himself with the US after the attacks on New York and Washington of September 11, 2001. But Major-General Waheed Arshad, the senior army spokesman, vowed to continue the military campaign against Taleban and al-Qaeda militants. “Such threats issued through videos or in any other way cannot deter us,” he said.

Under pressure from the US and Britain, General Musharraf has deployed about 90,000 troops along the border with Afghanistan. About 1,000 have been killed. He plans to be reelected and then to step down as head of the army before being sworn in for another term. But he has lost the support of Islamist and moderate Pakistanis since trying to dismiss the Chief Justice in March, and faces several legal challenges to his reelection plans. A recent survey suggested that bin Laden was more popular than General Musharraf among Pakistanis.

A senior Pakistani security official acknowledged that many Pakistanis objected to General Musharraf’s ties with the United States but said that bin Laden’s message would backfire.

In another video released by al-Qaeda yesterday, Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden’s Egyptian-born deputy, also said that General Musharraf would be punished for the Red Mosque, and called for Muslims to fight the United States and its allies.

The video included footage of al-Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, meeting a senior Taleban commander. The videos are among several issues by al-Qaeda to coincide with the anniversary of 9/11.

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• 'Was it real?' The US bailout nightmare
• Iranian opposition plays the long game