British writer, 70, held in Pakistan's tribal area

A British man aged 70 has been arrested in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions. Nicholas Bain told officials he was writing a book and was trying to cross into Afghanistan when he was arrested in the Khyber region on 28 August.

Arshad Khan, the administrator of Khyber, said Mr Bain was being held in the city of Peshawar. Foreigners need special permission to enter Khyber and other tribal regions, which are home to Taliban and al-Qa'ida militants.

Mr Khan said Mr Bain was likely to be charged with entering the area without permission, an offence normally punishable by a fine or short prison term.