PUK Bloc Continues Efforts to Make Halabja Iraq's 19th Province

Iraq 05:51 PM - 2024-12-03

Iraqi parliament building.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) bloc's efforts in the Iraqi Parliament to pass the bill on making Halabja the 19th province of Iraq continue following the completion of all legal processes.

 

Continuous Efforts

Chro Hama Sharif, a PUK MP in the Iraqi Parliament, informed PUKMEDIA that the PUK bloc's endeavours to pass the bill for making Halabja a province are continuing.

"We have secured the endorsement and support of several parliamentary blocs to vote on the bill, and we are persisting in our endeavours until the bill is enacted," she stated.

"Halabja province has finalised all legal and administrative processes; only the parliamentary vote on the bill to designate it as a new province remains," she remarked.

 

Ongoing Consultations

MP Sharif further remarked: "We spoke with the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament regarding the bill, and he conveyed his endorsement for its approval." 

In 2023, the Iraqi cabinet endorsed a bill to designate Halabja as a province. The Iraqi legislature must pass the bill by a vote for the decision to be finalised.

The Iraqi Parliament has finalised the initial and subsequent readings of the proposed legislation to designate Halabja as a province, with only the voting on the bill pending.

Halabaja, which has been recognised as the 4th province of the Kurdistan Region in 2014, has four subdistricts: Khurmal, Biyara, Bamo, and Sirwan. It is also a tourist destination, attracting thousands of tourists annually. 

On March 16, 1988, Halabja, which was then a town within the borders of Sulaymaniyah Governorate, was bombed with chemical weapons by the fallen Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath regime. The crime caused the death of over 5,000 individuals, predominantly women and children, and inflicted injuries on hundreds more.

The bill is part of the efforts to compensate the province for the tragedies it has witnessed.



PUKMEDIA