Maliki in Najaf for propaganda stunt – official

NAJAF /Iraqi News Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s visit to Najaf is for mere propaganda within preparations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections on March 7, a local official said on Saturday. “Maliki is in Najaf to open projects that lacked proper studies in the first place,” Jawad al-Jarawi said in a press conference in the holy city. He said that some of the Najaf Provincial Council members staged a sit-in today (Feb. 27) condemning security measures imposed on them inside the council building. Earlier, the province’s information director said that Prime Minister Maliki arrived in Najaf to meet with the governor and members of the provincial council and also to inaugurate the major al-Mishkhab water project. The prime minister will also attend a massive rally in al-Najaf stadium, he added. MH (P)/AmR 1