American Detained In Pakistan After Trying To Enter Tribal Regions

This is a curious situation. Pakistani officials are holding 20-year-old Jude Kenan of Raleigh, North Carolina after he tried to enter the Mohmand tribal region. They aren't saying whether he was trying to contact Taliban or al Qaeda:

Kenan, the American detainee, tried to enter the Mohmand tribal region a week ago. Authorities have not said whether they suspect him of contact with Taliban or al-Qaida militants. Kenan's family says he was in the country to visit his Pakistani father.

It was unclear if Kenan is seeking bail. A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, which has assisted Kenan, had no comment.

It was not immediately clear if [Asst. Sec. State] Boucher discussed Kenan's case during meetings with Pakistan's president and other officials held since his arrival Sunday.

Boucher danced around questions about stepped up missile attacks by suspected U.S. drones on targets within Pakistan, saying he was not a military officer.

But he did say that some of the reports of the attacks and civilian casualties were wrong.

What kind of intel did the Pakistanis have on Kenan that they stopped him? The Times Online wonders whether he's a US spy, al Qaeda agent, journalist, or just an adventurous backpacker. He had been picked up by Pakistani officials last week, released, and detained once again. His family says that he was there to visit his father and two sisters:

Kenan's uncle, Evan Risueno, said Kenan left for Pakistan on Oct. 3 from Raleigh, N.C., and planned to visit his father, who is Pakistani, and two sisters who live in Pakistan.

Risueno said Kenan had not spoken with his mother, father or sisters since his arrest.

"He's been there in the past, without any problem. All of my sister's children have been there without any problem," Risueno told The Associated Press from his home in eastern North Carolina.

Risueno said his sister was first told about her son's arrest by a U.S. government official. "She was contacted by someone from the U.S. consulate in Pakistan," he said.

Given how the Pakistani authorities have looked the other way in tribal regions for years for terrorists and Taliban elements that routinely cross the border into Afghanistan to launch attacks, it's most curious that they've paid particular attention to Kenan. Something here doesn't quite pass the smell test.