Shafaq News- Basra

A grassroots movement in Iraq’s Basra province will stage a sit-in outside the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), demanding that parliament pass legislation regulating the state-linked paramilitary force and securing the legal rights of its personnel, an Iraqi official told Shafaq News on Sunday.

Sheikh Mujtaba al-Mansouri, leader of the movement, said the sit-in will begin on Tuesday and continue until the group’s demands are met. The campaign could expand to government offices involved in drafting the legislation if parliament fails to pass the bills.

Earlier today, an informed source told Shafaq News that two draft laws governing the PMF were nearing referral to parliament after provisions that had previously drawn US objections were removed. The drafts cover the PMF Restructuring Bill, which sets out the force’s legal status, and the PMF Service and Retirement Bill.

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