Iraqi Parliament support upgrade Al-Zubair to province

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Iraqi Parliament approved a proposal to establish a new province in southern Iraq by upgrading Al-Zubair district in Basra, according to an official document.

The document, signed by Parliament Secretary-General Safwan Al-Jarjari, and addressed to the prime minister’s office, stated that speaker of parliament and his two deputies, along with 100 lawmakers, had endorsed the request submitted by MP Rafiq Al-Salhi on March 25 to convert Al-Zubair into a province “in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.”

However, Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani rejected the parliamentary push on March 27, arguing that religious and historical considerations support keeping Basra unified. “Imam Ali wanted Basra to remain strong and united,” he said.

Under former President Saddam Hussein in the early 1990s, there had been a plan to establish Al-Zubair as a separate province and annex Kuwait to it, but the idea was abandoned following Iraq’s defeat in the Gulf War.

On Monday, Iraq’s Parliament formally approved Halabja as the country’s 19th province, ending years of political gridlock that had delayed its official recognition.