Wellington - The New Zealand government said Thursday it was making urgent inquiries into the arrest of a 35-year-old New Zealander by Pakistani security forces as he tried to enter an al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold on the Afghan border.

The man, identified on his passport as Mark Taylor, was reportedly detained at a paramilitary checkpoint near the town of Tank, about 280 kilometres south-west of Islamabad

Dressed in local clothing and wearing a beard that he did not have when his passport photograph was taken, he was travelling in a bus headed for a tribal region that is off-limits to foreigners, where he said he was going to get married.

New Zealand does not have an embassy in Pakistan but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was seeking information from its honorary consul in the country.

Amid speculation that Taylor was suspected of having links with Islamic militants, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English told reporters: "He's got himself into a difficult position. We are concerned about him but it's in the hands of the local authorities." (dpa)