ABNA24 - The Iraqi Nujaba Movement has described the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) as the “backbone of Iraq” and a key safeguard for the country, stressing the need to preserve the force’s unity and organizational structure amid renewed efforts to regulate its legal status
In a statement released through its media office, the movement called the PMF the “beating heart of Iraq” and a genuine manifestation of the belief in resistance.
It also described the force as a major obstacle to what it called enemy plots against the country.
Nujaba warned against approving any changes that could lead to divisions within the PMF or weaken its capabilities, arguing that preserving the force was essential to safeguarding Iraq's security and stability.
The movement further said that standing against such efforts was a duty owed to the blood of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the former deputy head of the PMF who was killed alongside Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike near Baghdad airport in January 2020.
The statement comes as Iraq's Council of Ministers approved a draft law governing the Popular Mobilization Forces on Tuesday and referred it to the country's Council of Representatives for constitutional review and a vote.
The proposed legislation aims to establish a clearer legal and administrative framework for the PMF, defining its status, rights, organizational structure and institutional responsibilities.
The Popular Mobilization Forces were established in 2014 following a religious decree, by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, calling for citizens to mobilize against the advance of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The force played a significant role in Iraq's campaign against ISIS, which seized large parts of the country in 2014.
In 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed legislation formally recognizing the PMF as part of the country's security apparatus and placing it under the authority of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
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