February 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 28, 1422

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NEW YORK, Feb 11: Arguments and mud-slinging marred a meeting of Pakistanis gathered at the Pakistan Consulate in New York on Sunday to devise a strategy to help expatriates detained by the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies since Sept 11 attacks, to deport illegal residents from the country.

Hundreds of Pakistanis charged with violating their visa limits have been languishing in the US jails since the Sept 11 attacks on the US landmarks by terrorists, awaiting a decision by the Immigration Department to deport them. Some have been detained for the last five months.

According to a witness the meeting of Federation of Associations of Pakistanis (Fapa) witnessed a pandemonium when the General Secretary of the Association refused to help Ms Uzma Nahid whose husband had been arrested four months ago by the FBI and she was left alone to feed her four children without any monetary help from anyone.

Ms Nahid wants the US Immigration authorities to expedite the deportation proceedings against her husband and procure her travelling documents from the authorities and permission to travel to Pakistan.

However, following arguments Pakistanis gathered on the occasion managed to raise over $2000 to help Ms Nahid for the upkeep of her children. The Consul-General, Hafiz, who come under harsh criticism for not helping the Pakistanis detained by the FBI. Mr Hafiz also objected to any fund-raising, saying “my permission should have been sought to raise any donation to help anybody.” Unlike the Indian Consul-General who had moved swiftly to help the Indian nationals detained by the US authorities, Pakistan Consul-General did not move until he was ordered by Pakistan Ambassador to Washington to meet US authorities to help Pakistanis. But he has failed to do anything till now.

Pakistanis here want President Pervez Musharraf, who is scheduled to begin his official visit on Feb 12, to take up the issue of detained Pakistanis with President Bush.

“He should tell the US President to ask the US law-enforcement agencies to expedite the deportation proceedings and send them home,” said a Pakistani at the meeting.