The authorities in the mainly Muslim Russian republic of Bashkortostan have expelled six Pakistanis after finding them guilty of preaching Islamic extremism and fomenting ethnic tension.

A government official said the groupwere disseminating views offensive to other ethnic and religious groups.

They were also accused of planning to recruite people to fight in regional conflicts in the mainly Muslim republics of Tatarstan and Dagestan.

Russia has seen a rise in Islamic fundamentalism in its Muslim regions since the fall of the Soviet Union.