Russia has announced the expulsion of six Pakistani citizens whom it accuses of stirring up ethnic and religious tension.

Their arrest comes shortly after Russia's Nationalities Minister accused "foreign security services" of financing and encouraging radical Islamic groups in Russia.

The six Pakistanis who are being expelled were detained in Bashkortostan, a traditionally Muslim area east of the Volga river, but one with little history of Islamic militancy.

The official announcement of their expulsion, however, dubbed the men "Wahhabis" and said they were due to go shortly to Dagestan.

This is a republic neighbouring the troubled region of Chechnya and which itself has seen frequent acts of violence in recent years.

Some of that violence has been linked to the Chechen insurgency, some to tension between local converts to Wahhabism and the rest of the population.

These so-called Wahhabis have been able to open new mosques with the help of foreign money and 'missionaries' from abroad.

Some of these newcomers have certainly been radical and some of them have probably been Wahhabi, stemming from a particularly strict form of Islam common in Saudi Arabia.

But the term Wahhabi is now commonly used in Russia and the other former Soviet republics to denote any strict or radical form of Islam.

There are in fact very few Wahhabis in Pakistan, which makes one suspect that the use of the term in this case may not be correct.

There are, however, other radical Islamic movements which do have a strong base in Pakistan and have a history of involving themselves in foreign countries - like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Dagestan.

These include the Jamaat-i-Islami, which preaches the need for a Jihad or Holy War.

It is known to send militants abroad and to have 'training camps' in Pakistan for foreign activists.

At the same time there are also peaceful Islamic groups who send missionaries abroad, like the Tablighi movement.

It is strict in its beliefs, but disapproves strongly of violence and tries to keep outside politics.

Some local authorities in Russia tend to condemn any activity by foreign missionaries - Muslim or Christian or Hare Krishna.

And there is a distinct tendency to assume all Muslims activists are radical and ill-intentioned.

'Radical' and 'subversive' Islamic groups are no doubt active inside Russia.