Cleric dies in Pakistan custody

A cleric arrested in Pakistan for suspected al-Qaeda links has died in custody, officials say.

The cleric, Qari Mohammad Noor, and three others were detained last week in a raid on an Islamic school in the city of Faisalabad.

Police confirmed Mr Noor's death, but gave no details. His Islamic MMA party says he was beaten in detention. There have been protests in Faisalabad.

Over 60 al-Qaeda suspects have been held in Pakistan in the past month.

'Anti-state activities'

As news emerged of the cleric's death, hundreds of students from Islamic religious seminaries in Faisalabad took to the streets, chanting anti-government slogans.

He was suspected of involvement in anti-state activities Faisalabad police chief Abid Saeed Pakistan issues $1m al-Qaeda list

The MMA has announced a day of protest on Thursday.

Police have not confirmed whether the cleric was in their custody or that of another state agency.

City police chief Abid Saeed told Reuters news agency that details of Mr Noor's death would be released later.

Sources at a private hospital in Faisalabad - where a team of three doctors conducted a post mortem - say that Mr Noor's body arrived under a police escort from Lahore.

Rewards

News of Mr Noor's death came as Pakistan published pictures of six "most wanted terrorists" on Wednesday.

The authorities have offered rewards totalling more than $1m for the men, who include two alleged militants wanted for assassination attempts on President Musharraf.

Arrests in recent weeks in Pakistan have netted two apparently key al-Qaeda members.

Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, indicted in the US over the 1998 bombings of American embassies in East Africa, was held in July.

Earlier that month Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, alleged to be a key al-Qaeda communications figure, was picked up in Lahore.

Material found on his computer is believed to have led to the wave of arrests in Pakistan and elsewhere.