The Pakistani Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, has urged the United States to remove Pakistan from a list of 24 mainly Muslim countries, whose nationals are subject to strict new immigration controls.
Mr Kasuri said the issue was of primary concern to Pakistan, which feared the possibility of mass deportation of Pakistani nationals from the US under any pretext.
He was speaking after talks in Washington with the American Secretary of State, Colin Powell.
Mr Powell said he was sensitive to Pakistan's concerns, but the measures, which involve photographing and finger-printing nationals from the listed countries, were neither directed at Pakistan, nor anti-Muslim.
Discussions between the two men also included a continuing commitment to co-operate in the American-led war against terror, and efforts to resolve tensions between India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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