All but three of a total of 58 Pakistani detainees at the Guantanamo Bay have been sent back to Pakistan, where a small number have been detained by the government for further investigation.
Pakistan's Acting Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq told this to the Los Angeles Times (LAT) in response to a question, adding, "Pakistan has been able to seek transfer of its detainees at a comparatively fast pace."
The detailed LAT report on Pakistan, headlined "In Pakistan, US policies foster suspicion and hatred" is published in Sunday's edition by-lined staff writer Evelyn Iritani, after having visited Pakistan extensively and interviewing a number of eminent figures from different walks of life.
The writer comments that "Pakistanis here and abroad say that because none of their fellow citizens were implicated in the (9/11) attacks, they have been unfairly singled out."
Iritani quotes DCM Sadiq saying, in December 2002, Pakistan was added to the list of countries, whose male citizens were required to register with the US immigration authorities.
"At least 1,650 people were eventually deported to Pakistan, many on minor immigration offences," said Sadiq, adding that an additional 5,000 to 10,000 left voluntarily afraid of being caught up in security sweeps.
It quotes Imran Ali, an officer stationed at Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC till recently, that "People invariably ask me, 'Look, our own people are dying on the frontier fighting against al Qaeda, and look at what the US is doing to us." He used to accompany deportees home on chartered flights from the US. "No doubt it creates extreme hostility for the US," he stated.
The write-up is based on narration, interviews, sharing of personal experiences and comments. It as well details the general impact of the horrific incident of September 11, 2001, subsequent policies and common thinking.
"I personally feel, Americans are losing friends in Pakistan very, very rapidly," said Pakistan People's Party deputy parliamentary leader, MNA Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The report quotes White House Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, stating that: "We have failed to listen and we have failed to persuade. We have not taken the time to understand our audience and we have not bothered to help them understand us. We cannot afford such shortcomings."
It says, Bush administration officials argue that their military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and the security crackdown at home - though certain to anger many Muslims - are a necessary part of fighting terrorism and protecting the US.
In an effort to improve its image among Islamic nations, the US government has offered increased aids and trade privileges. Officials say that they are working out kinks in the visa-processing system and that they have launched new broadcast services to reach out to the Muslim worlds.
But even the US officials acknowledge that Washington has done a poor job explaining its policies, particularly to Muslims. The struggle for hearts and minds is more than a public relations war, and the stakes in Pakistan are among the highest.
It says, Pakistani politicians and business leaders who once looked to America for ideas and support are strengthening ties with the Muslim world and China. Anti-Americanism has become a powerful tool for religious militants. Even well meaning US efforts, such as aiding schools, are viewed with suspicion.
Evelyn Iritani makes a mention of Pakistan's committed efforts in the war on terrorism. President Pervez Musharraf, the report adds, is one of the Bush administration's "strongest allies in its war on terrorism."
The US has committed a three billion dollars aid package to Pakistan, which has maintained democratic aspirations that set it apart from many other parts of the Muslim world.
The LAT report states that since the September 11 attacks, the US has become less welcoming.
"Before 9/11, I had a great fondness for American life;" said Dr Fair Bhora, a pediatric heart surgeon at UCLA Medical Centre who was stuck in Pakistan for nearly eight months waiting to get a work visa after completing 10 years of medical training in the US. "That was put to the test after 9/11. I feel discriminated against. I never felt that before."
Some small exchange programs remain, but over the last two years the number of Pakistanis coming for business, tourism and short-term education plummeted almost by half to about 31,000.
Regular visitors, including former Pakistani government officials, journalists and businesspeople, are routinely pulled aside for questioning and searches. Many no longer want to make the trip.
Continue down this path, said Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, and the US will be handing the militants a huge victory. "You should not let this feeling of bias continue," he said, "because ultimately, that would be the biggest disadvantage, and the perpetrators of the 9/11 crime would have succeeded beyond measure."
The report states that ten years ago, an inquisitive young Pakistani would have been encouraged to apply to a US university, where he could have absorbed American pluralism, MTV, fast food and baseball. The State Department lists more than 170 current and former foreign leaders who have US degrees.
Even when official relations have been in the deep freeze, wealthy Pakistanis bought homes in Boston and Washington, and clothing exporters brought their samples to buyers in Los Angeles.
Pakistan, like India, has been a leading supplier of doctors to America. Bush administration officials say that consular officers have been told to expedite student visas and that the Department of Homeland Security has created a team to help students arriving at airports.
"Those of us who are engaged in public diplomacy are very interested in keeping the doors open for bona fide students;" said Larry Schwartz, director of the State Department's Office of Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
"One of the great aspects of American 'soft power' is that, around the world, there are leaders who understand American perceptions," said Stephen Cohen, a South Asia expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former State Department official. "When you're sitting across the table and talking to a counterpart, if he understands America in a sympathetic fashion, you've got 50 percent of your battle won."