New PMF Draft Law in Iraq Raises Questions about Fayyadh’s Electoral Ambitions 

Members of the PMF are seen during a military operation. (PMF on Telegram – file photo)
Members of the PMF are seen during a military operation. (PMF on Telegram – file photo)
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New PMF Draft Law in Iraq Raises Questions about Fayyadh’s Electoral Ambitions 

Members of the PMF are seen during a military operation. (PMF on Telegram – file photo)
Members of the PMF are seen during a military operation. (PMF on Telegram – file photo)

Head of Iraq’s Taqaddum party and former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi expressed on Tuesday his fierce opposition to a draft law related to the enlistment and retirement of members of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

In a post on the X platform, Halbousi accused PMF leader Faleh al-Fayyadh of abusing his position for “partisan goals.”

Parliament is expected to discuss the draft law on Wednesday.

The law raised questions over political influence within the PMF, a military group that was formed in 2014 and that became an official state institution in 2016.

The law in Iraq prohibits military officials from using their position for electoral purposes or to work in politics. They must resign from their position before pursuing political interests. Fayyadh has repeatedly been accused of flouting this law.

Fayyadh is already the head of a political bloc that enjoys influence in a number of provinces. It is currently vying for government posts in the Nineveh council.

Fayyadh has also been accused of using PMF funds to finance his al-Ataa movement.

Halbousi criticized the draft law for undermining the independence of the military and security agencies as stipulated in the constitution.

The law allows the leader of the PMF to also act as a head of a political party and therefore, he would be able to employ the PMF and its forces for his political agenda, added Halbousi.

He wondered whether the draft law would be used for “unacceptable electoral and political purposes”.

A source close to the Taqaddum party said Fayyadh designed the draft law to “serve his electoral ambitions.”

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he added that the law “sets no boundaries between Fayyadh’s political role and his position as head of the PMF.”

Moreover, he noted that the law allows Fayyadh to send into retirement any member of the PMF, a power he could use against a vast number of members to secure their vote in elections.

A leading member of the pro-Iran Coordination Framework said Halbousi’s attack against Fayyadh may be supported by some Shiite forces that want to remove him from his post.

The official revealed that the Asaib Ahl al-Haq group was among Halbousi’s strongest backers in this regard.

The group has long been planning on ousting Fayyadh, 68, so the draft law is unlikely to be ratified without amendments, he went on to say.

Leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali had previously called for Fayyadh’s ouster because he has exceeded the legal age for the position and because he is the leader of a political party.

As of 2024, the PM boasts 238,075 members. It initially had no more than 60,000 when it was first formed in 2014 to fight the ISIS extremist group.

The number of its members kept growing even after ISIS’ defeat in Iraq, sparking accusations that leading members were adding fake names to the PMF for financial gain.

In 2019, former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi accused some PMF leaders of “mysteriously making fortunes from public funds.”

On Monday, independent MP Sajjad Salem called for “criminalizing the possession of weapons outside the state and merging the PMF with the security forces to prevent Iran from exerting its influence through its proxies in factions and militias.”

The Iraqi state budget revealed that around 3 billion dollars (some 4.5 trillion dinars) are allotted to the PMF with hundreds of billions of dinars dedicated to salaries and the purchase of weapons.



Tensions Rise between Militias in Western Libya

Members of the security forces deployed in Tripoli, Libya. (EPA)
Members of the security forces deployed in Tripoli, Libya. (EPA)
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Tensions Rise between Militias in Western Libya

Members of the security forces deployed in Tripoli, Libya. (EPA)
Members of the security forces deployed in Tripoli, Libya. (EPA)

Tensions are rising between rival militias in western Libya, with fears that the country could be dragged into an “imminent civil war.”

Armed factions were amassing forces in the western city of Misrata towards the capital Tripoli, while an armed convoy was seen headed towards the Salaheddine area in Tripoli.

Residents of Tripoli's Arba and Souq al-Jumaa districts met with the leaders of armed factions to urge them to bolster their security presence and take preemptive measures to confront the military mobilization.

They stressed the need to counter any threats and block attempts to undermine security.

The Tripoli Protection Force strongly warned members of rival armed factions, including those loyal to the Government of National Unity (GNU), such as Defense Ministry Undersecretary Abdulsalam al-Zoubi, against dragging the capital into a “futile war”.

It accused them of seeking to achieve their “corrupt agendas and seizing power over the blood of the innocents,” vowing that it “won’t allow anyone to meddle with the stability of the capital and threaten the lives of its people.”

It vowed a “violent and unprecedented retaliation to any military advance on Tripoli,” pledging to protect the people “until the last bullet.” It held the GNU and other parties involved “fully responsible for an escalation because of their open or implicit support of these gangs.”

Leaders of revolutionaries brigades in Misrata declared on Saturday their categorical rejection of the Misrata Joint Force towards Tripoli. It accused head of the GNU, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, of ordering the mobilization.

They described the mobilization as a “stab in the back to the nation and an attempt to spark a civil war that only serves the enemies of the Libyan people.”

Dbeibah’s “suspicious silence is evidence of treason being plotted” in Tripoli, they added in a statement.

“Any attempt to undermine the security of the capital will be met with fire,” it went on to say, accusing Dbeibah of “selling out the nation” to foreign powers and of working with “suspicious alliances to control the capital and extend his rule by force.”