POWs return is “a matter of time”- lawmaker

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A parliamentarian from the Sunni Iraqi Accord Front (IAF) on Tuesday said that thousands of Iraqi prisoners of war (POWs) are still held by Iranian authorities since the end of their war in 1988, describing their release as an issue that needs some time. “The return of POWs is a matter of time following the signing of a bilateral agreement under the auspices of the Red Cross,” MP Shatha al-Abbousi, who is also the deputy chairman of the parliamentary human rights committee, said in a statement published today on the front’s web site. The release will take place in cooperation with international organizations, including the United Nations and the Red Cross, the statement noted. An exchange of POWs between the two countries is still under negotiation, the statement added. SS (P) 1