London: An al Qaeda footage has shown Warren Weinstein, the director for US-based consultancy who was kidnapped in Pakistan last year, for the second time since his kidnapping, appealing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to intervene in the matter and save his life.
In the video posted on Jihadi websites, Weinstein, 71, said “Unfortunately President Obama and the American government have shown no interest in my case.”
Believed to be held in the tribal regions along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, Weinstein appears healthy and calm, speaking in a soft, controlled manner. He was seated on a chair with his back slightly slouched, wearing a thin white t-shirt.
“Therefore, as a Jew, I’m appealing to you, Prime Minister Netanyahu, the head of the Jewish state of Israel, one Jew to another, to please intervene on my behalf.”
Weinstein was kidnapped from Lahore on August 13. He was country director for US-based consultancy J.E. Austin Associates, which does contracting work with the US Agency for International Development. He suffers from asthma, heart problems and high blood pressure.
Al Qaeda demanded release of Omar Abdul Rahman, Ramzi Yousef and Sayyid Nosair from US custody. Al Qaeda had also demanded the release of the family of Osama bin Laden.
“If you accept the demands, I live; if you don’t accept the demands, then I die,” Weinstein told Obama his first video.
In a video message posted on militant websites in December, al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri said Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world.
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