ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The passage of a controversial draft law to restructure the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) is an “important entitlement” and a “priority” for parliament, a lawmaker said on Monday, amid an ongoing weapons restriction program by Baghdad. 

“The approval of the Popular Mobilization Forces law is one of the priority files and represents an important entitlement for the sons of the PMF who made great sacrifices defending Iraq,” Mohammed al-Baldawi, a lawmaker from the Sadiqoun bloc, told the state-owned al-Sabah newspaper. 

Sadiqoun is the political bloc of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, a powerful Iran-backed militia that has notably supported Baghdad’s weapons restriction program and announced its willingness to disarm. 

The proposed bill includes the Service and Retirement Law for the PMF and aims to organize the Popular Mobilization Commission (PMC) like other state security and military agencies.

When integrated into the state in 2016, the law did not spell out issues such as structure, institutionalization, retirement, benefits, or compensation for the families of fighters killed in battle. The new law is intended to fill those gaps and to place PMF personnel on equal footing with members of other security institutions.

Baldawi said that Sadiqoun has met with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi “to emphasize the need to do justice” to the PMF and support the law, stressing, “These rights are not solely moral but also include material entitlements, land plots, retirement rights, and the legal privileges resulting from years of service.” 

“The goal is to establish the PMF as a solid and well-established institution within the state, capable of performing its tasks professionally and possessing the necessary capabilities,” he added. 

The bill, however, is heavily opposed by Washington, with the US concerned that it would legitimize armed groups with strong links to Iran, including some responsible for attacks on US interests and the killing of American personnel. 

Iran-backed Iraqi factions – many of which are incorporated into the Iraqi state security apparatus as part of the PMF – have claimed responsibility for several attacks on US interests in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including the US Embassy in Baghdad, the Consulate General in Erbil, and American military bases.

The PMF, known as Hashd al-Shaabi, was formed upon a call by Iraq’s top Shiite authority Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani soon after the Islamic State (ISIS) took over large swathes of territory in Iraq. The force has been officially incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces, enjoying similar privileges as the Iraqi army.

The bill, which further signals long-term integration for the network, would give them greater autonomy from the defense ministry.

Earlier in August, Iraq’s first deputy parliament speaker Adnan Faihan - from Sadiqoun - said that the parliament speakership supports approving the controversial law, calling its potential enactment “a reward for the sacrifices of the martyrs and the wounded and the heroism of its men.” 

On Wednesday, head of PMF media Muhannad al-Aqabi said that the law “will be passed in the coming days,” claiming it enjoys unanimous support in parliament.