Al-Khazali: Weapons-control plan does not apply to Peshmerga

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Asaib Ahl Al-Haq Secretary-General Qais Al-Khazali argued on Thursday that Iraq’s push to bring weapons under state control does not apply to the Peshmerga as an institution.

In an interview with Al-Iraqiya News, Al-Khazali reasoned that its recognition under Iraqi law and the Constitution places it outside the scope of the initiative. He nevertheless maintained that full state sovereignty requires the Peshmerga to operate under the authority of the commander-in-chief.

Article 121 of the Constitution allows federal regions to establish and organize internal security forces, including regional guards, a provision Kurdish officials who spoke to Shafaq News cite as the legal basis for the Peshmerga and its distinct status from the armed factions at the center of the debate.

Read more: Iraq's weapons debate ensnares the Peshmerga

Al-Khazali backed restricting weapons to official institutions, pointing out that Asaib Ahl Al-Haq’s arms are already integrated into the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a state-linked paramilitary umbrella, stressing that fighters entering government security bodies should sever their political and partisan affiliations.

The Shiite Coordination Framework (CF), the largest bloc in parliament, unanimously supports the plan, according to Al-Khazali, though he linked its implementation to addressing the circumstances that originally drove armed groups to operate outside government structures, “including the occupation and the war against ISIS.”

The State Administration Coalition has set Sept. 30 as the deadline for completing the process, the same date scheduled for the end of the US-led Coalition’s military mission in Iraq.

Read more: Tension meets dialogue as Iraq approaches September 30