Iraqi parliament holds second reading of PMF Law

Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s parliament conducted the second reading of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Administrative Structure Law on Wednesday, advancing a controversial proposal that would expand the group’s institutional authority.

The revised draft, set to replace Law No. 40 of 2016, includes 17 articles that restructure the PMF’s hierarchy, authorize new directorates, and broaden its legal and executive powers. It supersedes the earlier PMF Service and Retirement Law, which was pulled in March amid political backlash and US pressure to tighten federal control over the force.

In a statement, First Deputy Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, who presided over the session with 172 lawmakers in attendance, described the bill as a step toward institutionalizing the PMF’s chain of command. He instructed the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee to integrate MPs’ feedback before the bill proceeds to a final vote.

The bill’s inclusion—missing from the agenda published a day earlier—sparked a walkout by several Kurdish and Sunni MPs in protest.

Lawmakers also debated nominations to the Federal Public Service Council and the presidency of the State Council, alongside other legislative items.