Hakim backs Sudani government and defends Popular Mobilization Forces

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Sayyid Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Hikma National Movement, has announced full support for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's government, saying the Coordination Framework has decided to back the cabinet in completing economic reforms. Speaking at a Husseini gathering in Baghdad, al-Hakim said Iraq is moving from a phase of protecting the state from collapse to one of building its institutions and consolidating stability. He stressed that the strength of the state depends on unified decision-making, sovereignty and the restriction of weapons to official institutions. Al-Hakim said the approach does not target any particular side and is necessary for a stable, law-enforcing state. He also defended the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), describing them as an official military institution with legal protections whose sacrifices across different periods should not be belittled.