24 September 2001

Pakistanis Among the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks in U.S.

By Phillip Kurata
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington - Pakistanis were among the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in at the World Trade Center, and the Pakistan Consulate General in New York City is providing support to Pakistanis victims and their families. Media estimates put the number of Pakistanis working at the World Trade Center at about 200.

Pakistan Consul-General in New York Mohammad Hafeez said immediately after the attacks on the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York, his staff began combing through media reports containing names of victims. He said two lists were compiled, one for injured Pakistanis and the other for missing people, presumed to be Pakistanis because of their names.

According to Hafeez, of the 17 Pakistanis injured, all but one have been treated in New York hospitals and released. The consul-general said that five people confirmed to be Pakistanis are missing in the World Trade Center attacks and 34 people who are presumed to be Pakistanis are missing. Hafeez is trying to confirm the identities of the presumed Pakistanis by working through Pakistani community groups and victims' families.

Hafeez said the consulate general has opened a 24-hour telephone hotline to help victims and relatives of victims of the tragedy. He said the number -- (212) 472-4339 -- will remain in operation "until the whole situation is resolved." He said so far several dozen callers in the United States and Pakistan have used the hotline.

The Pakistani diplomat said the consulate general has established contact with Pakistani community associations in New York to support the relief efforts by helping identify victims, taking food and drinks to rescue workers and organizing blood donation drives.

"We have one major association here in Brooklyn. They were all busy in providing food and drinks to the rescue workers at the World Trade Center site. There were some who donated blood and on two occasions our people organized prayers, one in Jackson Heights and the other in Brooklyn where we have a majority of our people," Hafeez said.

The Pakistani diplomat estimated that about 150,000 Pakistanis or Pakistani Americans live in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

In the face of the terrorist attacks, Pakistanis feel "shocked and outraged at those barbaric acts," Hafeez said. He said at the same time, the Pakistani community feels "a general sense of insecurity" because of acts of ethnic hatred directed at Arabs, Muslims and people of South Asian descent following the attacks.

Members of the Pakistani community have been targets of threatening phone calls, harassment, and physical assaults, Hafeez said. He said the killing in Dallas, Texas of a Pakistani whose family used to live in New York has caused deep anxiety in the Pakistani community in New York. While he expects the level of anxiety to remain high for some time, Hafeez expressed appreciation to the New York police and local authorities for responding in support of the Pakistani community.

Pakistanis are among citizens of more than 60 nations who died in the attacks.