26 August 2004	Thursday	09 Rajab 1425

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WASHINGTON, Aug 25: Sixty-four Pakistani immigration detainees left for home on Wednesday on a chartered flight from Louisiana. This was the 8th chartered flight repatriating Pakistani detainees deported from the US for violating immigration laws.

Previous such flights have repatriated some 600 detainees between June 2002 and April 2004. A total of 1,682 detainees have been deported to Pakistan prior to this flight, including those deported through chartered flights.

Chartered flights are operated under an arrangement between the Pakistan Embassy and the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mohammed Sadiq, Pakistan's acting ambassador in Washington, said arrangement ensured the early repatriation of those detained Pakistani nationals who had exhausted all judicial remedies and wished to go back to Pakistan.

The embassy and the consulates received scores of calls each day from relatives of the detainees in Pakistan and around the world, asking for repatriation of their loved ones, he said.

An earlier repatriation through chartered flights ensured that Pakistani nationals did not have to suffer long incarceration after the culmination of their judicial processes, he added.

The release and repatriation time of Pakistani detainees is the most expeditious among South Asian countries, usually less than 90 days. Detainees from other countries usually suffer a minimum of six months in detention after deportation orders.

Like previous such flights, an embassy official has interviewed all detainees to ensure that only those detainees are repatriated to Pakistan who have no pending judicial appeals in US immigration courts and want to return to Pakistan. The official is also accompanying the detainees to Pakistan to facilitate their immigration formalities in Islamabad.

The embassy is also providing financial assistance to the detainees to enable them to reach their hometowns from Islamabad. During the flight, the detainees would be served halal food and a doctor would be on-board to provide any medical assistance if required.

More than half of the deportees are deportation absconders who had been ordered deported in the past but did not comply with those orders. The others have been convicted of crimes such as credit card fraud, larceny, assault, spousal abuse and burglary. Those in the latter category have already completed their sentences in the United States.

Besides assisting Pakistani nationals in early repatriation, the embassy and the consulates maintained consular access with the detainees through regular visits to detention centres to provide assistance under the provisions of law, Mr Sadiq said.