US assured review of screening Pak citizens at airports: Basit

Islamabad, Mar 8(ANI): Pakistani Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Abdul Basit has said that the US authorities had assured Islamabad that they would review the practice of screening its citizens at their airports.

Basit said that Pakistan had lodged a strong protest with the US authorities when the new screening procedure was announced.

"The US had assured Islamabad at the time that they would look into the matter and respond favourably," The Daily Times quoted Basit, as saying.

He further said that despite the protest, the government is still awaiting a response.

Pakistan's name is in the list of 14 countries, whose citizens have to go for full body screening as part of America's new stringent air security measures under the new US Transportation Security Administration rules.

All citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen must receive a pat down and an extra check of their carry-on bags before boarding a plane bound for the US. (ANI)