NZer arrested at Al Qaeda stronghold

NZPA report:

Pakistani security forces have detained a 35-year-old New Zealander who was trying to enter an al Qaeda and Taleban militant stronghold on the Afghan border.

Pakistani intelligence officials who declined to be identified have said they suspected he might have links with Islamist militants.

The man, identified on his passport as Mark Taylor, was detained at a paramilitary checkpost on the outskirts of Tank town, about 280km southwest of Islamabad, which is the gateway to South Waziristan.

The top government administrator in Tank, Barkatullah Khan, told Reuters, the man had told the soldiers who detained him that he was going to South Waziristan to get married.

“He was travelling in a passenger van. He has a beard and was wearing a shalwar kamiz as a disguise,” Khan said, referring to a traditional baggy trousers and tunic outfit worn by men.

This may be totally innocent, but South Waziristan isn’t exactly a popular tourist destination.