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Shafaq News- Baghdad<\/p>\n
Shiite political leaders have agreed to seek passage of the
\nPopular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Service and Retirement Law before the end of
\nSeptember, alongside arrangements for handling weapons held by armed factions,
\na Coordination Framework (CF) source told Shafaq News on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The CF leaders agreed to quickly finalize amendments to the
\nlegislation and send it to parliament under the standard legislative process.
\nThe Framework also instructed the team reviewing the bill to accelerate its
\nwork ahead of the September 30 deadline for the Global Coalition\u2019s military
\nmission in Iraq to end.<\/p>\n
The Service and Retirement Law was approved by former Prime
\nMinister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani\u2019s government in 2025 and referred to
\nparliament, but was later withdrawn amid disputes over its provisions.<\/p>\n
The proposed amendments address ranks and career
\nprogression, benefits for the families of members killed in service and for
\nwounded personnel, and provisions for members who have exceeded the legal
\nretirement age, including the PMF chairman.<\/p>\n
They also cover the force\u2019s structure, the number and
\nleadership of its brigades, and the status of volunteers who joined the PMF
\nduring the fight against ISIS that began in 2014 despite being below the legal
\nage at the time, the source said.<\/p>\n
The source said the bill would soon<\/a> be referred to Read more: Iraq’s PMF Service and Retirement Law: Is political exploitation inevitable?<\/a><\/p>\n Weapons Arrangements<\/p>\n On weapons held by armed factions, the source said a He said the arrangement falls under what political leaders Earlier on Sunday, State of Law Coalition member Zuhair The issue remains particularly sensitive ahead of September
\nparliament\u2019s Security and Defense and Legal committees for review before being
\npresented again for reading and a vote.<\/p>\n
\npolitical understanding calls for factions to hand over their weapons to PMF
\nstorage facilities rather than those of other security agencies.
\nRepresentatives of the Interior and Defense ministries or the Counter-Terrorism
\nService may oversee the process.<\/p>\n
\ndescribe as \u201cmanaging the factions\u2019 weapons,\u201d with the process coordinated with
\nthe Iraqi government. Transfers to PMF facilities would begin only after the
\nGlobal Coalition completes its withdrawal and the Service and Retirement Law is
\npassed. \u201cAny discussion of different measures before those two conditions are
\nmet is merely an attempt to disrupt the existing understandings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nal-Chalabi told Shafaq News that efforts to bring weapons under state control
\nremained unresolved<\/a> and that September 30 was not a firm deadline.<\/p>\n
\n30, a deadline the government and major political forces have set for bringing
\nweapons under state control. The date also coincides with the scheduled end<\/a> of
\nthe Global Coalition\u2019s military mission in Iraq, which some factions have cited
\nin linking the future of their weapons to the withdrawal of foreign forces.<\/p>\n