Baghdad officially promotes Jalawla to district status

Shafaq News- Diyala

Iraq has upgraded Jalawla from a subdistrict to a full district in Diyala province, granting the city administrative authority over its surrounding area, the Iraqi Ministry of Planning confirmed on Monday.

In a statement, Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi, the Ministry's spokesperson, explained that the decision followed a detailed study by the Ministry’s Directorate of Regional and Local Development, which evaluated both demographic and economic factors. Jalawla achieved 80 points under the ministry’s criteria, exceeding the minimum population threshold of 50,000. The district is home to roughly 94,000 residents, with an additional 40,000 in the newly re-coded Saadia subdistrict.

“Its location provides a strategic connection between several provinces, while Lake Hamrin and surrounding farmland offer potential for tourism and agriculture,” he added, noting that the town already hosts more than 56 schools, a hospital, two health centers, water projects, government offices, and active economic and agricultural sectors, forming a foundation for local development.

Earlier, Fahmi Burhan, head of the General Board for Kurdistani Areas outside the Region, rejected Baghdad’s decision to upgrade Jalawla, warning that altering the town’s administrative status without coordination between Erbil and Baghdad represents a unilateral move outside the constitutional mechanism governing contested areas. “Any change requires joint agreement under Article 140,” he conveyed to Shafaq News.

Jalawla, located about 70 kilometers northeast of Baquba, has a mixed Arab, Kurdish, and Turkmen population. ISIS seized the town in August 2014 before Iraqi forces recaptured it that November. In 2023, local officials estimated that Kurds comprised roughly 10% of residents following displacement and security pressures.

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