Abducted German aid worker seen alive in video

He appealed to authorities not to attempt freeing them by force. "I would like to live and I would like to see back my family alive," he said, speaking in English with a slight German accent.

In the video lasting just less than a minute, Muehlenbeck is heard speaking calmly in front of a white wall, wearing glasses and a dark hoody.

He said he could be killed by his captors at any time. "We don't know when. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe in three days."

Pakistan, a poor predominantly Muslim nation of about 180 million, is struggling to fend off an insurgency fueled by Islamic extremists, many of whom are believed to hide in the lawless provinces bordering Afghanistan.

Kidnappings for ransom are common in Pakistan. Islamist militants have also abducted people. Several aid workers have been targeted over the past years.

This week saw a gruesome series of deadly attacks on Pakistanis working on a polio vaccination campaign. Six of the aid workers gunned down were women, three of whom were teenagers. Two other workers were critically wounded.

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Zarar Khan in Islamabad contributed to this report.