Pakistani journalist faces trial

Police say Rizvi faked images of the Taleban training in Pakistan

A Pakistani reporter detained last month while working with two French journalists will be put on trial for anti-state activities, police say.

Khawar Mehdi Rizvi allegedly helped the Frenchmen travel to the south-western city of Quetta without permission.

The foreign reporters were arrested and later deported.

Human rights groups have expressed concerns for Mr Rizvi's safety. Two other Pakistanis have been charged with the journalist.

Inspector-general of police for Balochistan province, Shoaib Sadar, said that Mr Rizvi and the two others, named as Syed Abdullah Nur and Abdullah Shakir, had been charged with acting against national interests.

Mr Sadar accused them and the French journalists of defaming the image of Pakistan.

He said intelligence agencies had supplied video material in support of the charges.

The material is alleged to show "fake" images of Taleban fighters training in Pakistan.

Whereabouts unknown

Mr Rizvi, 44, was arrested in mid-December with Marc Epstein and Jean-Paul Guilloteau of the French weekly L'Express.

They were investigating the Taleban presence in Pakistan.

The French pair were charged with violating the terms of their visas and sentenced to six months in prison.

However, they were deported a few days later after intense lobbying by French diplomats.

Mr Rizvi has remained in custody and his whereabouts are not known.

The US-based Human Rights Watch has urged Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to order the immediate release of Mr Rizvi.

Several human rights organisations have complained about what they call diminishing media freedoms in Pakistan.