Iraq withdraws PMF Law under external pressure, MP says
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Iraqi government has withdrawn the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Authority Law from parliament under “foreign pressure,” a lawmaker revealed on Wednesday.
Hussein al-Battat, a member of the State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by former PM Nour Al-Maliki, told Shafaq News that the government “pulled back the legislation without explaining the reasons.”
He urged lawmakers to “press the government to resubmit the bill for a vote before the end of the current legislative term,” calling for approval without yielding to internal or external influence.
The PMF was formed in 2014 after Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s fatwa calling on Iraqis to defend the country following the fall of Mosul to ISIS. Tens of thousands of volunteers joined the force, which played a decisive role in defeating the extremists. In 2016, parliament passed a law integrating the PMF into Iraq’s security apparatus, though its command structure and oversight were left undefined.
The proposed law seeks to close the gaps by standardizing military ranks, regulating funding, clarifying ties to the Defense and Finance Ministries, and requiring military backgrounds for leadership. It has divided parliament, with Shiite blocs backing it and Kurdish and Sunni factions opposed.
The Security and Defense Committee affirmed on Saturday that it had finalized the bill and submitted it to the parliament’s presidency. However, despite calls to place it on the agenda, it was absent from Monday’s session.
