Shafaq News- Baghdad
Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed ForcesAli Falih Al-Zaidi held separate meetings on Saturday with the head of thePopular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Faleh Al-Fayyad, Army Chief of Staff AbdulAmir Rashid Yarallah, and the Senior Undersecretary of the Interior MinistryHussein Hasab Al-Awadi, in his first round of security consultations sincetaking office.
According to his media office, Al-Zaidi received detailedbriefings on the general security situation across the country during themeetings, with no details revealed about the content of the reports presented.
The Commander-in-Chief directed that efforts continue toconsolidate security stability, intensify coordination among security agenciesacross all areas of responsibility, and raise readiness levels. He also calledfor meeting the requirements of officers and enlisted personnel in the armedforces and other security agencies to ensure the execution of their duties andmissions.
The meetings come days after parliament granted confidenceto Al-Zaidi's government, with nine cabinet portfolios —including the Interiorand Defense ministries— still unfilled pending a post-Eid parliamentarysession.
What the Program Says
Al-Zaidi's ministerial program devotes its first pillar tostate sovereignty and national security. The headline commitment is theconsolidation of all weapons exclusively in state hands and the enforcement ofthe rule of law, alongside unifying the security decision and linking allresources and capabilities to the formal state system.
The program commits to strengthening security, intelligence,and military agency capabilities and diversifying arms sources. It states thatIraq will not serve as a corridor or launching point for attacks on otherstates, and that no foreign state will be permitted to interfere in Iraqiinternal affairs.
On the PMF specifically, the program commits to developingmembers' capabilities in a way that enhances combat readiness while definingtheir responsibilities, missions, and role within the military and securitystructure according to law.
The program also commits to cutting off funding sources forterrorism and organized crime, and to channeling all international engagementthrough official diplomatic channels.
: Ali Al-Zaidi sworn in as Iraq's prime minister with a program already failed