Lawmaker urges oil minister not to evade questioning

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The rapporteur of the parliamentary oil and gas committee on Tuesday called on the Iraqi minister of oil not to evade questioning in Parliament. “If Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrestani is confident that his ministry is void of administrative and financial corruption, he should appear before the Parliament to face the charges against him…,” MP Jaber Khalifa told IraqiNews.com news agency. Khalifa said that Shahrestani had contacted parliamentary blocs and members of his bloc in an attempt to evade or to postpone the questioning. Last week, Khalifa submitted to the Parliament’s presidency a request signed by 140 parliamentarians to question the oil minister. SS (P) 1