For security, Govt may ban travel to Iraq

Following an initial inquiry into the growing controversy over employment of Indians in Iraq, the Protectorate of Emigrants (POE) has recomm...

Following an initial inquiry into the growing controversy over employment of Indians in Iraq, the Protectorate of Emigrants (POE) has recommended that a ban be placed on travel to Iraq for security-related duties.

While there are doubts about the legality of such a ban, the POE is going ahead with action against agencies involved in sending ex-servicemen to Iraq. A showcause notice has been served on Gemini Veteran Global Placement Agency and another is reportedly on its way to the Mumbai-based TriGuard Force.

In its report to the Labour Ministry, the POE has also suggested that all those travelling to the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Kuwait be sensitised on the risks and hazards involved in working in Iraq.

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Sources said nearly 1,200 Indians working in Iraq had ‘‘illegally’’ moved to the country from Jordan and Kuwait and that they had not been cleared by the Protectorate to work in the war-ravaged country.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs is trying to find out the identity of the ex-serviceman who was reportedly killed in Iraq in January this year. One of the retired defence officials who has returned after a stint in the country, Col T. Kapoor, had told The Indian Express about this ‘‘dead colleague’’.

The Army is also trying to obtain details of ex-servicemen who have taken up jobs in Iraq through its intelligence units spread across the country. The reports will be sent to the Army Headquarters here.

The Defence Ministry may ask the Labour Ministry to enact a comprehensive law in the matter, accounting for the service rules on ex-servicemen employed abroad. This includes a Defence Ministry order making it mandatory for a commissioned officer to seek the consent of the President before taking up a job with a foreign company.

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