PMF restructuring plan prompts Iraq request for frozen funds
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq’s government plans to seek the release of frozen state funds held abroad to finance the integration of more than 800,000 armed faction members into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and other security institutions, an informed source told Shafaq News on Tuesday.
The request will cover Iraqi assets frozen in the United States and several European countries, the source indicated, adding that approval from Washington could facilitate the release of Iraqi funds held elsewhere.
“Integrating members of armed groups that have agreed to surrender their weapons and join state institutions will require substantial financial allocations due to their large numbers.” According to the source, most factions have agreed to hand over their weapons, with the exception of Harakat Al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada.
He also revealed that major changes are expected within the PMF after the integration process is completed and its directorates are reorganized under the institution’s approved structure. “Among the proposals under discussion is the appointment of Ali Miah Al-Zaidi to head the PMF Commission if Abu Fadak is not approved as a successor to Faleh al-Fayyad.”
Coordination Framework (CF) leaders continue to hold meetings aimed at resolving the issue of armed factions operating outside the state’s official structure, the source added.
Earlier this week, a government source told Shafaq News that some political forces and armed groups had shown greater flexibility regarding efforts to place all weapons under state control, adding that any handover process would be implemented according to a specific timetable.
On May 9, an informed source pointed out that the CF and Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi had agreed to establish a committee tasked with overseeing the disarmament of armed factions following a call by Sadrist Movement leader Muqtada Al-Sadr.
Read more: Ali Al-Zaidi's incomplete cabinet faces Iraqi armed factions test
