Iraqi MP presses government to revive PMF service bill
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraqi lawmaker Falih al-Khazali on Sunday renewed calls to advance a long-stalled bill governing service and retirement within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), saying he had formally asked the government to place it on the Cabinet’s agenda.
Al-Khazali, head of the Montasiroun (Victorious) parliamentary bloc, stated during a news conference that he had submitted the request to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The PMF is an umbrella organization of predominantly Shiite armed groups that was formally incorporated into Iraq’s state security apparatus in 2016, though the role and autonomy of some of its factions have remained a source of political controversy.
The legislation has been stalled since March 2025, when then-Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani withdrew it from parliament amid political disagreements that had repeatedly contributed to a lack of quorum and disrupted legislative sessions. The bill has been politically contentious over provisions governing the PMF’s institutional structure, service conditions and retirement arrangements.
