The arrests have caused anti-US feeling

The Lahore High Court was hearing the case of a prominent doctor and four members of his family, accused of harbouring suspected militants.

The judge ruled there was no case against three of the men - two of them sons of the doctor, the other a nephew.

Despite the ruling, police had still not freed the men by late on Monday.

Their lawyer said they were being held under public order laws which allow the authorities to detain suspects without charge for 90 days.

The doctor himself, Ahmed Javed Khawaja, and his brother remain in custody after the judge turned down an appeal against their detentions.

They face separate charges under Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws, although it is not clear when their trial will begin.

Giving refuge

Police allege the men fired on intelligence agents who raided their home, reportedly with help from the FBI, near Lahore.

All five deny al-Qaeda links, and say they have been unlawfully detained.

The authorities accuse Dr Khawaja and his family of giving shelter to some of al-Qaeda's most wanted suspects.

They were named as:

• Abu Yasir al-Jazairi, an Algerian-Moroccan national responsible for al-Qaeda business affairs.

• Sheikh Said al-Masri, an Egyptian national in charge of al-Qaeda finances.

• Assadullah, an Egyptian national from the militant Jamaat al-Islamiyyah group.

• Abu Faraj, head of al-Qaeda's North African network and deputy to Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to have helped plan the 11 September attacks on the US.

Pakistani forces have captured more than 400 suspected militants since US-led military action was launched against al-Qaeda in neighbouring Afghanistan in October 2001.

Most have been taken to a US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for questioning.