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"Pervez has insulted and compromised Pakistan's sovereignty by allowing the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to operate freely in Pakistan and arrest, interrogate, torture, deport and detain any person, whether Pakistani or not, for as long as they like, thus turning the Pakistani army and security agencies into hunting dogs in the contemporary crusade," said the purported tape from al-Zawahiri.

The message, the authenticity of which has not been fully confirmed, came as Musharraf fights a critical battle for his political survival, threatened by an impeachment motion by his opponents in parliament.

The Pakistan television channel ARY said the tape was delivered to its office in Islamabad [Images] by an unidentified person. People familiar with Zawahiri's voice said the tape could be genuine.