Shafaq News – Ankara / Baghdad

On Saturday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) leader Faleh al-Fayyad met Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara amid political disputes over the PMF Authority Law.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting on its “Next Sosyal” platform without disclosing details.

While Turkiye has not taken any position, the talks come as Iraqi lawmakers debate a draft bill that seeks to more formally define the PMF’s role within state institutions.

First passed in 2016, the law recognized the PMF—a coalition of Shiite armed groups—as part of Iraq’s security forces but left its structure vague. Iran has described the legislation as an internal Iraqi matter, while the US has warned that amendments could entrench the PMF as a parallel force to the army and legitimize factions it designates as terrorist organizations.

The PMF was formed in 2014 after Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged volunteers to fight ISIS following the fall of Mosul, drawing thousands of recruits alongside established Shiite factions.