Family members of some of the detained 'terror' students met up in Pakistan's capital to plead for their release.

The families of seven of the 10 students travelled hundreds of miles to address a packed press conference of national and international media in Islamabad where they told journalists that those imprisoned in Manchester have still not been allowed to talk to their families and they demanded immediate contact.

One of the family members, Mukarram Khan, cousin of detained Shoaib Khan, said: "All we want is for Shoaib to be released so that he is able to resume his studies."

Last year Shoaib's university attendance record was 98 per cent. This year it had been 100 per cent and he has taken six of his 14 exams - and was due to take the next in June.

Tariq Mehmood, writer and campaigner, of the Justice for the North West 10 campaign travelled to Islamabad from Manchester.

He said: "This is part of the war on terror in Britain. They are making all of us terrorists, when we are the victims of terror.

"The Government of Britain must apologise for alleging that a major terror plot had been averted - or provide evidence of it. The Pakistan government should demand the immediate release of the students and ask the question how would the British behave if 12 of their students had been arrested in Pakistan.

"The British even fight to free convicted criminals." Tariq added.

"Gordon Brown must stop punishing these students for the irrational allegations that were made. There was no terror plot Mr Brown. You must know this. Why punish these students to save your own face?"

The students were amongst 12 men who were arrested on April 8 after co-ordinated raids on 14 addresses in the north west, including Manchester. They were all released without charge but 10 of them were handed straight over to UK Borders Agency for deportation and are currently being detained.

Barrister John Nicholson, who represented Shoaib Khan at the bail hearing in the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) at the Royal Courts of Justice last month, told a stunned journalist crowd: "Lawyers are expected to defend their clients without knowing any detail of the alleged evidence against them.

"This is a secret court. The judge hears what the Home Office is keeping secret and the appellants and their representatives are not allowed to know what this is - if anything. It is against all the principles of natural justice to detain someone, without a shred of evidence, without letting them or their representatives have any detail of any allegation."