Halabja calls for provincial status in talks with Iraqi President

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, the Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rashid, met with a delegation from Halabja Province to discuss the city’s challenges, as well as a proposal to grant it provincial status.

According to a statement from the president’s media office, Rashid met with a delegation comprising government officials, parliamentarians, and religious figures from Halabja. The discussions focused on the city’s administrative, economic, and urban conditions, as well as the challenges it faces and the essential needs of its residents.

“The delegation requested that the bill to grant Halabja provincial status be included in parliament’s sessions for a vote,” the statement revealed.

President Rashid affirmed that the chemical attack by the former regime was “a heinous crime against humanity.”

He also highlighted Halabja’s commercial, cultural, and intellectual significance, along with its agricultural wealth.

Halabja's recognition as an Iraqi province has emerged as a central demand from Kurdish parties, with political discussions now hinging on it. The move to grant Halabja provincial status is seen as a long-overdue acknowledgment of the city's historical trauma and its cultural and economic importance. This key demand is tied to the approval of the PMF law, with Shiite factions proposing amendments, while other political conditions include the dissolution of the Accountability and Justice Commission for the Sunni component.