Iraqi PM Allocates 1.5 Billion IQD for Halabja on PUK MP's Request

Halabja Governorate Office

Halabja Gate Project.

The Prime Minister of Iraq granted an extra 500 million Iraqi dinars (IQD), in addition to the previous 1 billion IQD, to finalise the Halabja Gate project. The decision was made in response to a request from a member of the Iraqi Parliament belonging to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) faction.

Chro Hama Sharif, an MP of the PUK Faction in the Iraqi Parliament, told PUKMEDIA that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani gifted Halabja 1 billion IQD on the annual commemoration of the Halabja chemical incident, which takes place every year on March 16th.

Sharif stated that, in response to the governor and mayor's request, the gift was provided for the construction of the city's gate project, which is currently being implemented.

"Upon evaluating the project, it was determined that an additional 500 million IQD are required for its completion. In light of this, I once again requested that the Iraqi Prime Minister allocate this amount of funds for Halabja with the aim of finishing the project. I am pleased to report that he has responded positively to my request," she said.

The ongoing building of the Halabja Gate project, valued at 1.5 billion dinars, is a present from the Iraqi Prime Minister to the city. The Halabja Gate project had its foundation stone placed on March 14, 2024.

Earlier, the PUK Faction successfully secured approval from the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity to send a significant quantity of electrical poles and transformers to the city.

Prior to this, in response to the PUK faction's initiatives, the Iraqi Prime Minister made the decision to allocate 50 billion dinars as compensation to the province and the individuals affected by the Ba'ath regime.

On March 16, 1988, warplanes from Iraq's previous Ba'ath regime, led by dictator Saddam Hussein, dropped a lethal mixture of chemical weapons on Halabja. This attack resulted in the deaths of at least 5,000 individuals, predominantly women and children, and caused injuries to hundreds of others. The Halabja chemical attack, officially acknowledged as an act of genocide by Iraq's High Court in 2010, has indelibly marked the collective memory of the Kurdish people. The attack was a component of a broader Anfal genocide operation, which resulted in the deaths of more than 182,000 Kurds under the rule of the Baathist state.



PUKMEDIA