THE Prince of Wales’s controversial visit today to a madrassa in the border town of Peshawar has been cancelled over fears for his safety, after calls by Islamic leaders for revenge for a Pakistani airstrike that destroyed another religious school about 60 miles (100km) away.

Violent anti-Western demonstrations erupted across the region after yesterday’s dawn raid on a school run by a cleric accused of sheltering al-Qaeda fighters left about 80 dead.

Royal aides held late-night talks with Pakistani military advisers after earlier deciding that the trip should still go ahead as planned.

The Prince had been looking forward to taking the Duchess of Cornwall with him on a tour of a “new model” madrassa in the North West Frontier province, where students are taught computer skills as well as the Koran.

A spokesman for the Prince said: “The Prince and the Duchess are disappointed not to be going. An alternative programme is being arranged.”

His security team considered the trip to Peshawar the riskiest of his tour and had tried to keep the planned journey a secret. But details of his programme, including the name of the madrassa, were published locally, adding to security concerns.

Diplomats were surprised at the timing of yesterday’s military raid because Pakistan’s leadership had been hoping for calm during what they saw as a chance to improve relations with Britain.

The cancellation will embarrass President Musharraf because the royal visit was meant to showcase how Pakistan is modernising its religious seminaries after claims by Britain and other Western governments that these schools are a breeding ground for extremists.

The target was a school compound in Chenagai, six miles north of Khar, which is the main town in the Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Military commanders denied that the strike was an attempt to demonstrate to the world how Mr Musharraf was keeping his promise to clamp down on militant training centres.

Major-General Shaukat Sultan, the army spokesman, said: “We received confirmed intelligence reports that 70 to 80 militants were hiding in a madrassa used as a terrorist training facility.”

Among those killed was Liaquat Hussain, a local cleric believed to be a close associate of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda’s second in command, who has a $25 million bounty on his head.

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