Nujaba reaffirms support for PMF, ‘resistance weapons’ after Coordination Framework meetings

BAGHDAD — Harakat al-Nujaba has concluded a round of meetings with Coordination Framework leaders without shifting its position, restating its refusal to disarm and saying it will not take part in the political process.

Political council head Ali al-Asadi said the movement had set out its insistence on maintaining the Popular Mobilization Forces as a national institution and preserving what he called the sanctity of the resistance’s weapons. Its position had not changed in the face of the threats it says Iraq and the region face, he said, arguing those weapons remain necessary, and it would continue pursuing its demands outside formal political participation.

A Nujaba delegation met former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais al-Khazali and Hikma Movement leader Ammar al-Hakim on Aug. 24.

Nujaba, Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada have resisted handing over weapons while foreign forces remain; Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Saraya al-Salam and the Imam Ali Battalions have moved toward compliance. Security adviser Qasim al-Araji has said Sept. 30 should not be seen as a disarmament deadline but as the start of talks on separating armed groups from military activity outside state institutions, and government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi has said discussions had reached an advanced stage with disagreement over mechanisms rather than principle.