Shafaq News – Baghdad

Qais al-Khazali, Secretary-General of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, on Friday criticized international calls for dissolving the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), describing them as a conspiracy targeting the Iraqi people.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq is an Iran-aligned armed group and a key faction within the PMF.

“Anyone pressing for the disbandment of the PMF seeks to remove Iraq’s essential guarantee,” al-Khazali explained in a press briefing, adding that “external pressures against the PMF Authority Law have reached dangerously high levels.”

He noted that the Law, once debated among Iraqi political factions, has increasingly become an international issue. “Major countries, including the United States and Britain, openly discuss the PMF, including proposals to dissolve or integrate it,” he remarked.

While referring to recent criticism by the UK Ambassador, Irfan Siddiq, who claimed the PMF was created to fight ISIS, which is no longer necessary, he underlined that foreign governments do not fund the PMF and face no threat from it, yet the issue continues to draw their attention.

Formally established in 2014 to fight ISIS, the PMF has since developed into a powerful paramilitary institution integrated into Iraq’s security apparatus, though it is often accused of retaining political and militia loyalties.

The proposed Law seeks to regulate its status, benefits, and legal framework—an issue that continues to divide Iraq’s leadership.

Meanwhile, the US State Department has warned that the legislation could strengthen Iran-aligned factions within the PMF, indicating it would maintain “appropriate action” against groups it designates as “terrorist organizations.”