Iraqi Parliament to Vote on Halabja Provincialisation Bill

PUKMEDIA

Halabja Monument.

The Iraqi parliament is scheduled to hold its regular session on Tuesday, 25 March 2025, to vote on a number of bill, most notably the Bill on provincialising Halabja city.

"Thanks to the efforts of the PUK bloc, the Halabja Provincialisation Bill was added to the parliament's agenda," Chro Hama Sharif, a lawmaker from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told PUKMEDIA.

"In recognition of the tremendous sacrifices made by the people of Halabja, we hope to be able to pass the bill today and give them this one small gift," she added.

Following a 50-day hiatus due to disagreements over the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) Bill, also called locally "Hashd Al-Shaabi" Bill, the Iraqi parliament resumed normal sessions on Monday evening, 24 March 2025. During the session, the parliament conducted the first reading of the bill. 

The first reading of the bill to repeal the law and ratify the agreement between the Government of the Republic of Iraq and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus No. (26) of 2023 exempting holders of diplomatic and service passports from entrance visa restrictions was also finished by the parliament.

While delaying the vote on the bill amending the fourth amendment to the Industrial Investment Law for the Private and Mixed Sectors, the parliament concluded the report and discussion (second reading) of the proposed amendment to Medical and Health Professions Progression Law No. (1) of 2000 in its concluding paragraph.

Furthermore the parliament decided to add the Halabja Provincialisation Bill to the agenda of Tuesday's session.

The bill, which has been in the parliament for more than a year but has been postponed because of disagreements with Arab lawmakers, is a part of the efforts to compensate for the enormous sacrifices Halabja has made. On 16 March 1988, the fallen Ba'ath regime in Iraq bombarded the city with prohibited chemical weapons, killing over 5000 civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, while injuring thousands more, most of whom still suffer from their wounds to this day.



PUKMEDIA