US calls on Iraq’s Abadi to disband Hashd al-Shaabi: MP
Forces from al-Hashd al-Shaabi.
Erbil (BasNews) When visiting Washington, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has been asked by the US administration to disband the Shi’ite militia Hashd al-Shaabi, said a Kurdish member of the Iraqi parliament on Saturday.
Arafat Karam, the Kurdish MP, told BasNews Hashd al-Shaabi will be dissolved and the US has called on Abadi to disestablish the militia.
Karam said the Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of Sadr Movement, has also come to the realization that Hashd al-Shaabi’s existence does not serve the national interests of Iraq, adding that the militia may form a political list to participate in the upcoming elections to serve a political agenda of a regional power.
Muqtada al-Sadr said on Friday during his speech among the protesters in Baghdad that he had received death threats from some sides which he avoided naming.
Karam said the threats are serious and they come from an Iraqi faction allied with a regional power who wishes to establish the Governance of the Jurist in Iraq.
Sadr also fears that Hashd al-Shaabi may be used by his opponent factions against him, Karam said. Therefore he has called for the dissolution of the militia force after the Islamic State (IS) is defeated.
The US, Saudi Arabia and the international coalition believe that the Shi’ite militia is affiliated with Iran, he said.
The Kurdish MP added that the high tensions between Sadr and Nouri al-Maliki, head of State of Law faction will be a barrier to the visit of the Kurdistan Region delegation to Baghdad for negotiations with the central government.