Maulana Fazal-ur Rehman could face life in prison if convicted.

Rehman is the leader of Jamiat Uleme-e-Islam, or Party of Islamic Clerics, one of the main groups opposing the government's support for the air campaign. At least seven people have died in violence accompanying the protests.

Authorities placed Rehman under house arrest hours before the airstrikes began, seeking to quell opposition.

He was charged Tuesday with sedition and with inciting hatred and violence through allegedly provocative speeches.

Rehman remains at his home in Dera Ismail Khan, 120 miles south of the northern border city of Peshawar.

His party denounced the charges.

"The cases have been framed against Maulana at the behest of America," said Abdul Jalil Jan, general-secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. "The government will now be responsible if there are any violent protests."

Rallies have been strongest in cities and towns in the north, close to the border with Afghanistan.

The U.S.-led attacks _ meant to uproot terror suspect Osama bin Laden and his Afghanistan Taliban allies _ have enraged Pakistan's small but militant religious groups.

The Islamic groups have failed to mobilize the people, however, and crowds at their rallies have not swelled as the government had feared.