Iraq to receive Popular Mobilization Forces law in parliament this week

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A draft law regulating the service and retirement conditions of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) will reach parliament this week, lawmaker Dia al-Zaydi of the Reconstruction and Development Parliamentary Alliance said on Sunday. Speaking at a press conference in parliament, al-Zaydi described the bill as one of the significant pieces of legislation before the legislature and said it would be read and voted on in the coming period. He framed the PMF as a security institution operating under state authority with its own dedicated law. Al-Zaydi also called on armed groups outside the official PMF structure to hand over their weapons, and urged that all brigades be brought under state authority. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said earlier in the week that the PMF institution benefits from the government's attention and support, and that the draft law would be submitted for approval within the framework of the armed forces' structure.