Shafaq News- Nineveh

Residents of Qar Fakhra, Bazwaya and surrounding areas in Nineveh province can now proceed with home construction under a judicial and administrative agreement addressing a long-running land dispute, Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil said on Thursday, dismissing concerns that the move could alter the area's demographic makeup.

Following a meeting at the Nineveh Federal Court of Appeal, attended by Court President Judge Raed Musleh and Provincial Council Chairman Ahmed al-Hassoud, al-Dakhil linked the proposed measures to protecting citizens' property rights, upholding civil peace and preserving social cohesion throughout the province.

Participants reviewed the implementation of Nineveh Provincial Council Resolution No. 68, along with recommendations from the Iraqi parliament to ease construction restrictions. The proposed measures would grant landowners with official freehold title deeds and valid building permits the right to begin construction, while requiring municipal authorities to provide the necessary facilities in accordance with the law.

Al-Dakhil also described the Shabak community as an integral part of Mosul and Nineveh province, rejecting claims of divisions between Mosul residents and those living across the Nineveh Plains.

The dispute spans Qar Fakhra, Jalyokhan and villages throughout the Nineveh Plains bordering Mosul's municipal boundaries. For years, thousands of residents have faced construction bans and frozen planning approvals amid political and social tensions fueled by concerns over potential demographic change. Overlapping municipal and administrative boundaries between Mosul and neighboring districts and subdistricts in the ethnically and religiously diverse Nineveh Plains have further complicated the issue.

The restrictions have left many families unable to develop land for which they hold official title deeds and valid building permits. In recent months, the Nineveh Provincial Council and several parliamentary committees have pursued efforts to lift administrative and municipal restrictions, with legal ownership, rather than political considerations, serving as the basis for resolving the dispute.

Read more: Nineveh Council lifts building restrictions on Mosul outskirts amid demographic dispute