US snubs Pak on immigrant issue but softly

‘‘I have been assured that maximum flexibility will be shown to Pakistanis’’ by American immigration authorities, he told a press conference. Earlier, Kasuri warned the Bush administration that any mass deportation of illegal Pakistani immigrants under new US security requirements would have a severe impact on relations.

‘‘What we are afraid of is mass deportation of Pakistanis under any provision or pretext whatsoever,’’ Kasuri told a news conference after talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. ‘‘That will be devastating and it will place undue pressures on our relationship,’’ the minster added.

The minister said he asked Washington to exempt Pakistanis from the provision. Powell said only that the US would make sure it was implemented ‘‘in a dignified way.’’

Powell said he recognised that the requirement had caused concern among Pakistanis and Pakistani Americans but defended the program as a way to defend the US. ‘‘I assured the minister that we are very sensitive to those concerns. He gave me a number of ideas as to how some of these concerns can be dealt with,’’ he said.

‘‘But I also reinforced that this is not something directed at Pakistan or directed at Muslims or directed at Pakistanis in America. It is an effort on the part of the US to do a better job of knowing who is in our country. The minister has my full assurance that we will be doing everything to implement this program in a dignified manner,’’ he added.