February 3, 2003	Monday	Zilhaj 1,1423

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 2: A Pakistan student with a valid visa was arrested at the Houston airport while returning after vacations.

Ms Samina Faheem, National Coordinator of American Muslim Alliance, a leading organizations of American Muslims with about 100 chapters in 34 states, said that Mr Ahsan Farooq, who was enrolled at the Tomball Community College, Houston, Texas, was detained while returning after vacations.

“Mr Ahsan was obviously detained because he was carrying a paycheck tub for the work which he did legally at the college campus.” Mr Ahsan Farooq, 23, is studying Computer information System at the college.

His brother, Mr Ghazanfar Farooq, will complete bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University, Ames, this semester. Their father, Mr Mustansar Farooq, is a retired official of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, currently living in Karachi.

Mr Ghazanfar Farooq contacted Ms Samina Faheem on AMA’s hotline for legal help. The hotline has received hundreds of calls from Pakistanis who are required to register with the INS by Feb 21.

Ms Faheem said that anxiety and uncertainty prevailed among the non-immigrant Muslim students who were not sure about their visa status after the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) began special programme to register the Pakistani and other Muslim students.

Many of the students with valid student visa were reluctant to leave the US for vacations because they were not sure if they would be allowed to re-enter, she added.

Ms Samina Faheem said that the AMA and Pakistan American Democratic Forum (PADF), another major organization, had launched a joint study on the psychological effects of the INS registration programme on the Pakistani and other non-immigrant Muslim students.

The INS registration was a traumatic event for many non-immigrant Muslim students, that challenged their sense of safety and the process might trigger strong physical and emotional reactions, said Ms Samina Faheem.

She referred to the case of Kamran Bokhari, a Pakistani graduate student in Middle Eastern studies at the LBJ School, Austin, Texas, who described his visit to the INS office, San Antonio, as tense.

Bokhari said he was nervous because he didn’t know exactly what the process would entail, he could only guess.

Ms Samina Faheem said that there were many cases like Bokhari which showed fear and anxiety among the non-immigrant Muslim students about the INS process.

She said that sending and receiving money was also becoming difficult for the Muslim students while their ability to work legally on campus was becoming impossible as indicated by the arrest of Mr Ahsan Farooq.