January 24, 2003	Friday	Ziqa’ad 20, 1423

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WASHINGTON, Jan 23: Senior diplomats from the countries affected by the US registration programme met at the Pakistan embassy and reviewed various options for dealing with the problem, the embassy said Thursday.

During the meeting, the participants exchanged notes on various aspects of the registration process, the problems encountered by the registrants and various modalities to better inform the respective communities regarding the process.

The participants noted that a substantial majority of potential registrants had not registered as yet because of misperceptions about the registration process. Views were exchanged on various steps to provide relief to the affected communities like putting information on websites as well as toll free hotlines to provide legal/consular assistance.

The Pakistani deputy chief of mission informed the guests about the many interactive meetings that the Pakistani Embassy had arranged between the community members, INS officials and immigration lawyers. Such meetings, he stated, had been useful in dispelling misapprehensions about the registration process and creating a better understanding between INS officials and members of the Pakistani community.