US detains Pak newsman

WASHINGTON - US officials have detained a Pakistani journalist employed by the state-owned Voice of America (VOA) who was coming to work here for the news service.
Rahman Bunairee, 33, was taken into custody Sunday afternoon upon arriving at Dulles International Airport, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing VOA officials.
No reason was given for his arrest. Joan Mower, a spokeswoman for VOA, declined to comment on the particulars of Bunairees detention other than to say: VOA is obviously extremely concerned. Were really upset about whats happened to this guy.
Cori Bassett, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that Bunairee is in the agencys custody but said she could not release further details because of privacy reasons.
Media reports say Bunairee, who faced threats from militants in Pakistan, travelled on valid documents to spend some time in the United States. His employer arranged to bring him to Washington so that he could continue his journalism in relative safety, said Bob Dietz, the Committee to Protect Journalists Asia programme coordinator.
US authorities must explain why they are holding a journalist with a valid US visa and release him immediately.
Bunairee, in addition to filing reports for VOAs Pashto-language radio service, is a popular reporter with the privately-owned Pakistani broadcaster Khyber TV. He is usually based in Karachi, but he is originally from the Buner District.
On July 7, Bunairee participated in a VOA call-in radio show in which he discussed the Talibans continued presence in Buner despite a major campaign by the Pakistani military to oust them last May, Mower said.
Two nights later, several dozen armed militants went to Bunairees family compound in Buner. Bunairee was not there. The militants told his father that because Bunairee was 'speaking against them, they had orders to destroy the house. The men allowed Bunairees family, including his wife and four children, to leave, then ransacked the house and levelled it with explosives.
Most recently, Taliban militants flattened the houses of at least six journalists in the neighbouring district of Swat before fleeing advancing Pakistani forces, according to Bob Dietz.
Bunairee travelled to the United States on a J-1 visa, often used by research institutions to bring in scholars and experts on temporary visits. Were expanding our Pashto broadcasting, and he was going to be working on that, Mower said, according to the Post.
CPJ Coordinator Dietz said he was particularly concerned about the message that Bunairees detention sends. Its mortifying, he said. Heres a journalist who has performed a valuable service by reporting from an area critical to US security, the Post said.