By: Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper said in an early edition of its Monday paper that it had withdrawn its Pakistan correspondents over an editorial last week which contained an expletive.
The editorial, which was critical of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, prompted the president to say on Sunday that he expected an apology from the daily.
"The Telegraph has withdrawn its correspondents in Pakistan after they were threatened with expulsion by the government," a two-paragraph article in the newspaper read.
"The move comes after the Pakistan High Commission complained about the language used to describe President Musharraf in a leading article last week."
The newspaper declined to comment when contacted by AFP on Sunday evening, but did not rule out the possibility of commenting on the issue later on Monday.
Britain's foreign ministry earlier on Sunday said that the three journalists were on their way back to Britain, and said that the British high commissioner had complained to Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri about the journalists' treatment.
"We believe media freedom is essential to economic and social development and stability, and actively support the development of a free and fair press in Pakistan," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
Pakistan ordered three Telegraph reporters to leave the country within 72 hours on Saturday because of the "foul and abusive language", a week after Musharraf declared a state of emergency which included strict curbs on the media.
The editorial was sharply critical of the West's relations with Musharraf, and used a quote containing an expletive to describe the key ally in the US-led "war on terror."
It also described Musharraf as "a spent force" and said he had shown a combination of "incompetence and brutality."
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