CAIRO: Al-Qaida's No 2 leader warned the Pakistani people in a new audio message that the US interference in their country's affairs poses a grave danger to Pakistan's future and very existence.

The English-language audio message by Ayman al-Zawahri was dated July 14 and addressed to "my Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan." In it, the militant group's second-in-command called on Pakistanis to join the fight against the United States or support the battle financially.

He warned that without that help "we shall not only contribute to the destruction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we shall also deserve the painful punishment of Almighty Allah."