WASHINGTON, May 7: In a video released by Al Qaeda, American hostage Warren Weinstein said he would be killed unless President Barack Obama agreed to the militant group’s demands.

“My life is in your hands, Mr President,” Weinstein said in the video. “If you accept the demands, I live; if you don’t accept the demands, then I die.”

Weinstein was kidnapped last August in Lahore after gunmen tricked his guards and broke into his home. The 70-year-old is the country director in Pakistan for J.E. Austin Associates, a Washington area firm that advises a range of Pakistani business and government sectors.

In a video message posted on militant websites in December, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects around the world.

A woman who answered the phone on Monday at a number listed for Weinstein in Rockville, Maryland, said she had no comment.

A friend and business associate of Weinstein’s said he was grateful to view the video that showed the hostage in apparent good health.

The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant messages, said that Al Qaeda’s media arm posted the video on Jihadi forums on Sunday.

“It’s important you accept the demands and act quickly and don’t delay,” Weinstein said in the video, addressing Obama.

“There’ll be no benefit in delaying, it will just make things more difficult for me.” —AP