New Delhi: In the wake of reports of casualties among Indian ex-servicemen drafted for security work in Iraq, Defence Minister George Fernandes today (May 3, 2004) said that Government could not stop former soldiers from seeking lucrative assignments abroad.

"If a citizen chooses to go there how can we stop him?" Fernandes said in reply to a question whether Government would prohibit recruitment of ex-servicemen for security duties in Iraq in the face of recent incidents of killings and kidnappings of foreign nationals there.

The Defence Minister pointed out that the people taking up such assignment were in the know of the risks involved.

However, when asked if the Government was planning to issue a travel ban advisory for Iraq, he said the matter has not come up for discussion so far.

Fernandes was speaking on the sidelines of a function to launch the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) website at his residence in New Delhi.