Pakistani police searching for a missing American journalist, Daniel Pearl, say they have questioned five men in connection with the case.

Officials said the men - members of a group thought to have links with an outlawed pro-Kashmiri separatists - were held briefly, but there was still no idea of the whereabouts of the reporter from the New York-based Wall Street Journal.

Mr Pearl has been missing since Wednesday when he was conducting an interview near the city of Karachi.

He was reported missing after he failed to follow the paper's routine of checking in with his editors.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service