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U.S. Immigration officials have detained a Pakistani journalist employed by the U.S.-sponsored Voice of America radio service who was hoping to find refuge in the United States after Islamic militants in Pakistan destroyed his home and threatened his life. Rahman Bunairee was taken into custody Sunday afternoon upon his arrival at Dulles International Airport, according to a spokeswoman for Voice of America.

It is not clear why Bunairee was detained or what the status of his case is.

Joan Mower, a spokeswoman for Voice of America, declined to comment on the particulars of Bunairee's detention other than to say, "VOA is obviously extremely concerned. We're really upset about what's happened to this guy."

Cori Bassett, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed that Bunairee is in the agency's custody. She said the agency might release further information late Thursday.

Bunairee, in addition to filing reports for VOA's Pashto-language radio service, is also a popular reporter with the privately-owned Pakistani broadcaster Khyber TV. He is usually based out of the southern port city Karachi, but he is originally from Pakistan's embattled Northwest Frontier Province, where the Taliban and other Islamic militant groups are active. He recently returned to that region to cover a series of major offensives against the militants by the Pakistani military.

In the past, the militants enjoyed a measure of support, or at least tolerance, among many Pakistanis. But the public mood shifted markedly against the militants this spring, partly due to local media reports about their cruel practices in districts they controlled.

Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, who met with Bunairee in Pakistan a few weeks ago, said it was unclear why his reporting had angered the militants.

"I asked, 'Were you criticizing them? Where you coming down really hard on them?' " Dietz said. "He told me, 'Bob, all I was doing was reporting what I saw.' "

That appears to have been sufficient. Late July 8, several dozen armed militants came to Bunairee's family compound in the Buner district of Northwest Frontier Province, according to an account later published by Voice of America.

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 11 family members to leave, then ransacked the house and leveled it with explosives.

That night militants also destroyed the home of another journalist in Buner district, Behroz Khan, a reporter for Pakistan's English-daily the News.