Iraq moves to give PMF greater role in state security

Bill proposing more power for the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces passes first reading in parliament

Members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces carry images of comrades killed in US air strikes in western Iraq, at a funeral procession in Baghdad. EPA

Iraq’s parliament is considering a bill to cement the role of the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a coalition of militias dominated by groups with ties to Iran, as a fully fledged arm of the state's security forces.

According to a draft seen by The National, the bill proposes giving the PMF chairman the rank of minister and a seat on the ministerial committee for national security. Other high-ranking PMF figures will take the rank of deputy minister.

It says the task of the PMF would be to “contribute to the protection of the constitutional and democratic system in Iraq”, and to the “defence of the country, protecting the unity and integrity of its territories, and combating terrorism in all its forms”.

The PMF was formed after ISIS had seized large parts of northern and western Iraq in mid-2014, as the US-trained security forces collapsed and thousands of Iraqis answered the call to arms by influential Shiite cleric Ali Al Sistani. Several powerful Iraqi Shiite militias, backed by Iran, joined its ranks shortly after, some of which had been fighting alongside former president Bashar Al Assad's forces in Syria’s civil war.

The PMF fought in parallel with the Iraqi military, which was assisted by the US-led coalition against ISIS. Many of its factions were accused of human rights abuse of civilians, which the government and the PMF have acknowledged as “individual acts”.

To address domestic and international concerns, the Iraqi parliament passed a law in 2016 to regulate the PMF and bring it under the control of the prime minister, who is also commander-in-chief of the national armed forces. However, the legislation had minimal detail on the force’s terms of employment and administrative structure.

After ISIS was declared defeated in Iraq in late 2017, Tehran-aligned Iraqi militias within and outside the PMF have emerged as a powerful military and political force that has defied the government and opposed the presence of US coalition troops in the country. The situation has prompted calls from within Iraq and from allies such as the US to integrate the PMF into the regular security forces.

The chairman of the PMF is Falih Al Fayyadh, who was sanctioned by the US for his role in quelling Iraqi pro-democracy protests in 2019 with the support of Iran’s Quds Force.

Parliament completed the first reading of the new PMF bill, containing 18 articles, on Monday. The second reading will begin the process of debate and amendments, before the proposal is put to a vote at the third reading.

Images of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, who were killed in a US drone strike in 2020, in Tahrir Square, Baghdad. Haider Husseini / The National

The bill proposes keeping the PMF under the command of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, but as a parallel military force. It would allow for regular army officers to be appointed to several high and mid-ranking posts but, at the same time, give the group greater strength in other aspects.

The proposed law is aimed at “building and organising a fully integrated military apparatus in terms of arming, training, readiness and ongoing development”. It calls for providing the PMF with “state-of-the-art technological equipment” and for its fighters to establish their own academy.

The PMF’s budget and personnel have risen sharply since the defeat of ISIS. Its numbers have nearly doubled, from 122,000 to 238,000, according to the 2023 budget, and the size of its budget allocation has increased steadily, from $2.16 billion in 2022 to $2.8 billion in 2023 and $3.4 billion the following year. It also runs its own trading company.

Iraq's government is backed by the Co-ordination Framework, the largest political group in parliament, made up of representatives of pro-Tehran militias and political parties.