Without al-Sadr, Iraqi leaders kick off a key meeting to end political impasse

Shafaq News/ Leaders of Iraqi political forces on Wednesday kicked off a key meeting to ponder solutions for the country's 10-month-long political deadlock in the absence of the Sadrist movement headed by the maverick Shiite clergyman Muqtada al-Sadr.

A source told Shafaq News Agency that the meeting brings together the heads of entire political spectrum, except for the Sadrist movement, in addition to the Chief Justice Faiq Zeidan, and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) chief Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

Al-Sadr's bureau announced that the Sadrist movement will not take part in the meeting called in by Iraq's caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.