Iraqi PM moves to make Al-Zubair a province

Shafaq News – Al-Zubair

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani on Tuesday instructed the Ministry of Planning to complete the administrative and technical procedures required to upgrade al-Zubair district to a province.

According to an official document issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, the directive was based on a formal request submitted by Member of Parliament Rafiq al-Salhi, as part of preparations to initiate the official process and inform the Council of Representatives.

80 members of Iraq’s parliament have signed a petition supporting the establishment of al-Zubair as a new province, drawing a parallel with Halabja in the Kurdistan Region, which was granted provincial status.

Calls to designate al-Zubair as a province are not new. The district, which is administratively part of the oil-rich Basra province in southern Iraq, has seen repeated demands from local officials and activists over the past decade. Some advocates have previously threatened to appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, Iraq’s highest judicial authority, if the request is not granted.