PMF law ‘will not be passed’ in current parliamentary term, says parliament security advisor

BAGHDAD — Mukhlid Hazem, security adviser to the Presidency of Parliament and political analyst, said there is an agreement among Shia leaders that the Popular Mobilization Forces law “will not be passed,” and stressed that “the parliament presidency is innocent of obstructing the PMF law.”

In an interview with Alnahrain TV, he said Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani “meets daily with the heads of the blocs” as part of ongoing discussions on the legislation.

Hazem said that in the current parliamentary term, the PMF law will not move forward. “There is a clear American threat and messages have reached politicians. And there is a vision that has crystallized among everyone that approving the law may take us into a maze that cannot be remedied in the future,” he said.

The PMF was formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State terror group. While it is officially part of Iraq’s security apparatus, it includes factions with close ties to Iran and operate with varying degrees of autonomy from the government.

In mid-July, Iraq’s Parliament completed the second reading of the draft law, though many Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers walked out in protest at its inclusion on the session’s agenda without consensus. No date has been set for a final vote.

In an interview with Alawla TV, Al-Mashhadani said there is “no need to legislate the law today,” warning that even a “1% risk” made it unwise to move forward now. He described the draft as important because it places the PMF under the command of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but expressed concern over external pressures.

Excerpts from Mukhlid Hazem’s interview with Alnahrain TV:

[Parliament Speaker] Al-Mashhadani meets daily with the heads of the blocs, and there is an agreement among the Shia leaders that the PMF law will not be passed, and the parliament presidency is innocent of obstructing the PMF law.

The American ambassador threatened everyone, and there was a full and clear statement regarding [Parliament Deputy Speaker] Al-Mandlawi as a party representing the Shia.

The Shia, Kurds, and Sunnis want to preserve Iraq and keep it away from any problem that may arise because of the PMF law.

The Americans threatened with everything, with all possibilities and all scenarios, foremost among them the economic and logistical aspects and the withdrawal of their soldiers from Iraq. And if they withdraw, fronts could open against us from all parts of the world.

Israel some time ago wanted to bomb us, but the intervention of the Americans and the efforts of the government prevented the strike from being carried out.

In this term, the PMF law will not be approved. There is a clear American threat and messages have reached politicians. And there is a vision that has crystallized among everyone that approving the law may take us into a maze that cannot be remedied in the future.

I can almost claim that Shia forces at the beginning were the ones opposing the approval of the law and not placing it on parliament’s agenda when the messages were veiled and private.

There must be a distinction between the PMF leadership and the PMF base. For history, these [fighters] made many sacrifices alongside the army and the federal police, but the problem is with the PMF leadership, and this law does not serve the base but rather serves the leadership only, because the leadership wants to be within legal frameworks like military brigades and others.