July 4, 2003	Friday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 3,1424

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QUETTA, July 3: Iranian border security forces have arrested six Iraqi refugees, including two women and two children, for crossing illegally into Iran from Pakistan.

“The refugee family wanted to go back to Iraq via Iran without having legal travelling documents,” border officials said on Thursday.

Sources said the family crossed into Iran on Wednesday, using infrequent route. However, when it reached near Mirjave, the Iranian border authorities arrested all the six members of the family.

The arrested Iraqi family was living in Quetta for the last many years, Khuda-i-Dad Ali, a young Iraqi, told Dawn on Thursday. “This family tried a lot to get legal travelling documents but in vain,” he said.

A large number of Iraqi families, who had migrated from different parts of their country to Pakistan, were living in Quetta for the last 10 to 15 years in very difficult conditions.

They had applied for refugee status but only few of them were granted refugee status and getting monthly allowance from the UNHCR.

After the ouster of Saddam government these families wanted to go back to Iraq.

“We want to go back to our country. There is no more rule of Saddam Hussein and now we feel no fear going to Baghdad, Najaf, etc.” Abdul Rehman, who is in his early 50s, said.

Those who want to go back to their country have appealed to US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the UNHCR and other international human rights organizations to make arrangements for sending them back to Iraq.