Pakistani journalist in court

Police say Rizvi faked images of the Taleban training in Pakistan

A Pakistani journalist detained by the authorities after travelling with foreign journalists to restricted tribal areas has appeared in court.

Khawar Mehdi Rizvi is accused of sedition and conspiracy.

He was arrested late last year after an assignment with two French journalists making a film about the Taleban.

They were deported and Mr Rizvi was not heard of until his court appearance.

The BBC's Paul Anderson in Islamabad says that after weeks of silence, the Pakistani authorities produced the journalist accused of anti-state activity in a court in the western city of Quetta.

Deported

Mr Rizvi was remanded in custody for three days and faces charges of conspiracy and sedition, which on conviction carry a life sentence.

He appeared in court with two other men who are accused of filming what police say is a fictitious Taleban camp.

The two French journalists they were working for have already been convicted of travelling in the restricted tribal areas without permission.

Their six-month prison sentence was set aside and the two were deported earlier this month.

They were in Pakistan filming an interview with a man who they say was a middle-ranking Taleban commander.

The French men say the interview was genuine; the Pakistani authorities say it was a fabrication.

On Monday the American ambassador in Islamabad, Nancy Powell, raised concerns with the Pakistani information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, over the treatment of Mr Rizvi.

She said she hoped Mr Rizvi would be treated fairly according to the rule of law.

Human rights organisations have complained before about diminishing media freedoms under President Musharraf.

Late last year Human Rights Watch said Pakistani journalists have been detained without charge, tortured or mistreated by the authorities.