Shafaq New- Baghdad
On Monday, Ammar al-Hakim, leader ofthe National State Forces Alliance, proposed a broad political coalition thatbrings together Iraq's Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish parties as a potentialframework for reaching understandings ahead of the country's next elections.
During a dialogue session inBaghdad, al-Hakim said such an alliance could provide an effective politicalsolution, although turning the idea into reality would require more timedespite growing convergence among the country's major political forces.
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Addressing the weapons issue, al-Hakimrenewed calls to restrict arms to state institutions, calling the principle aconstitutional and legal obligation as well as a long-standing recommendationof Iraq's religious authority.
He also described the Peshmerga, thearmed forces of the Kurdistan Region, as an official institution similar to thePopular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a predominantly Shiite umbrella forceincorporated into the Iraqi state in 2016. Reorganizing the PMF, he added,could provide a natural pathway for restructuring the Peshmerga through clearmilitary chains of command based on institutions rather than individuals.
His remarks followed a decision byIraq's ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, the political alliance that dominates the country'sgovernment, to task Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the ArmedForces Ali al-Zaidi with taking the necessary measures to bring all weaponsunder state control. The move was followed by announcements from severalpowerful Iran-aligned armed factions outlining steps to disengage from the PMFand transfer their weapons and personnel to state authority.
The debate, initially centered onthe future of armed groups operating outside state institutions, has graduallyexpanded in some political circles to encompass the status of the Peshmerga.
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