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Pakistanis fear harassment in U.S.
From CNN State Department Producer Elise Labott
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pakistan is concerned that forcing its citizens in the United States to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) will result in harassment and deportation of innocent Pakistanis, State Department officials and Pakistani diplomats tell CNN. Under the U.S. National Security Entry Exit Registration System (NSEERS), established after the September 11 attacks, the INS is to monitor the entry and exit of adult citizens from various countries. All such people in the United States are to be photographed, fingerprinted and periodically monitored. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen were added last year to the system, which originally covered citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria. Pakistan has protested to the United States and requested it be taken off the NSEERS list. "Pakistan, a front-line ally of the United States against terrorism, and the Pakistani community in the U.S., a model group which prided itself on its peaceful and law-abiding record, did not deserve to be on any such lists," a written statement issued by the Pakistani embassy in Washington said. Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf has taken the matter up with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, State Department and Pakistani officials said. Low crime rate"It is motivated by a justified desire to ensure the U.S. security," one senior Pakistani official told CNN. "In practice it will likely result in harassment and deportation of Pakistanis who may have committed minor transgressions of U.S. law." The official voiced concern that citizens who might have improper documentation could be subject to harassment and detention, even though they do not present a threat to the United States. He added that the crime rate among the Pakistani community is very low. "This could create political problems," he said. "The entire community could be targeted." About 500,000 Pakistanis who live in the United States are required to register with the INS within the next month of so. Pakistani officials in Islamabad and Washington have been negotiating with the United States to allow Pakistani consular officers to be present during the interviews. "We want to have people familiar with U.S. laws present," the official said. "The U.S. side has said it intends to be sensitive to our concerns, but naturally U.S. security is uppermost in their minds." 'Flexibility'Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, met Tuesday with the Pakistani community in New York, assuring those present that his country is attempting to make the registration process "as hassle-free as possible," the embassy press release said. Qazi is expected to meet the Pakistani community in Washington this Saturday. In November the Canadian government protested to the United States that its nationals who had dual citizenship from one of the NSEERS countries should be exempted, and issued a temporary travel advisory warning Canadian citizens born in those countries against traveling to the United States. Intense diplomacy between Powell and Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham resolved the matter, and the United States has since exempted Canadian nationals from the new restrictions. Powell in the past has indicated there could be "some flexibility" relating to the citizens from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen because those countries were added in an executive order. However, regulations on citizens from countries covered by NSEERS would have to be changed by Congress.
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