Al-Mashhadani Forms Parliamentary Committee to Follow Up on Implementation of General Amnesty Law
Baghdad-INA
Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani directed today, Sunday, the formation of a parliamentary committee to follow up on the implementation of the General Amnesty Law.
Al-Mashhadani's media office stated in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that 'Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani ordered today the formation of a parliamentary committee headed by him to follow up on the implementation of the General Amnesty Law."
"The committee will be headed by him and include a number of members of Parliament."
According to the statement "the committee will include eleven members from various parliament committees to perform the tasks assigned to it, following up the implementation of the law, and coordinate between relevant authorities."
The parliamentary order, according to the statement, indicated that "the committee will submit a periodic report to the parliament presidency, including the results achieved and the obstacles facing implementation."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Shafaq News
42 minutes ago
- Shafaq News
Iraqi women and ballot paradox: Why they vote for men more than women
Shafaq News/ Despite decades of constitutional guarantees and gender quotas, a quiet paradox persists in Iraq's electoral landscape: many women, when faced with the ballot, still choose men over their female counterparts. Although Iraq's electoral system guarantees women 25 percent of the 329 seats in Parliament—equivalent to 82-83 seats—the disconnect between women voters and female candidates remains strong. Despite this constitutional protection, many female candidates struggle to gain the support of women voters, who often opt for men. This persistent trend raises questions about societal values, political structures, and the image of women in public life. Human rights activist Sarah Jassim believes this phenomenon is rooted in how female political figures are perceived. Speaking to Shafaq News, she explained that the issue is not a rejection of women's abilities, but the result of negative portrayals and a lack of visible, effective female leadership. 'There is a lack of empowering female role models who truly represent the concerns and aspirations of women,' she says, pointing out that the outcome is a form of internalized doubt that shapes electoral behavior—especially among women themselves. Jassim challenges the underlying assumptions driving this pattern. 'Has women's trust in other women faded? Or is it the failure of political frameworks that exclude genuine female voices?' For her, the problem lies not in women themselves, but in a political environment that has failed to cultivate and support female leadership. She calls for a rethinking of Iraq's political discourse—one that promotes leaders who not only meet the quota but genuinely speak for women. Iraq's representation statistics suggest progress on the surface. Women currently hold 95 out of 329 parliamentary seats, thanks to the quota system. However, most of these seats are secured through the quota, not competitive elections. Historical figures underline the trend: in the 2006–2010 term, women won 78 seats through the quota and only 21 independently; between 2010 and 2014, the figures were 81 and 15, and from 2014 to 2018, 83 and 20. Few women have gained seats based solely on public support. Former Iraqi MP and current Secretary-General of the National Civil Movement, Shurooq Al-Abayji, views that the issue goes beyond gender—it reflects a broader skepticism toward the political class. 'This issue is not just about gender but about the overall distrust in the political elite,' Al-Abayji explains to Shafaq News. She emphasizes that many Iraqi women do admire and support female figures, but structural barriers continue to limit their visibility and impact. 'Men still lead most parties and hold top positions, which naturally draws public support toward them,' Al-Abayji adds, arguing that in many rural and tribal communities, male family members often influence how women vote. Cultural norms, limited education, and entrenched gender roles all contribute to the marginalization of women candidates—even among women voters themselves. Zainab Rabea, Head of the Al-Nakheel Center for Press Rights and Freedoms, highlights a further dimension: the strategic exploitation of women by political parties. She notes that many political alliances view the quota not as a path to empowerment, but as a mathematical requirement to be fulfilled. 'There's an effort to use women to fulfill quotas, particularly in large political alliances and lists, rather than offering them genuine leadership roles,' Rabea tells Shafaq News. Although Iraq is not short of capable women, Rabea points out that few have been able to establish themselves as influential political figures with public credibility and autonomy. 'I hope the next elections will change this narrative,' she adds, stressing the need for a political culture that embraces women not only as symbols but as leaders. Despite the appearance of progress, Iraq's political reality reveals a lingering gap between symbolic representation and real empowerment. The tendency of women to vote for male candidates, rather than supporting other women, reflects more than a personal choice—it is the product of decades of marginalization, political exploitation, and cultural conditioning. As Iraq nears another electoral milestone, the key question remains: When will Iraqi women see in one another the leaders they need?
Iraqi News
5 hours ago
- Iraqi News
North Korea's Kim vows 'unconditional support' for Russia's war in Ukraine
INA- SOURCES North Korea has become one of Moscow's main allies during its more than three-year Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container-loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk border region. Meeting top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, Kim said that Pyongyang would "unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies in all the crucial international political issues including the Ukrainian issue", the Korean Central News Agency reported. Kim "expressed expectation and conviction that Russia would, as ever, surely win victory in the sacred cause of justice", KCNA said. The two sides agreed to "continue to dynamically expand" relations, the state news agency reported. Russia and North Korea signed a sweeping military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the nuclear-armed North. Shoigu hailed the deal as "fully meeting the interests of both countries" during a visit in March. Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing the country's intelligence service. North Korea in April confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow's war in Ukraine -- and admitted that its troops had been killed in combat. South Korea has also accused the nuclear-armed North of sending significant volumes of weapons, including missiles, to help Russia's war effort. The visit was Shoigu's second to Pyongyang in less than three months. Deepening ties A multilateral sanctions monitoring group including South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries last week condemned ties between Russia and North Korea as "unlawful". According to the group, Russian-flagged cargo vessels delivered as many as "nine million rounds of mixed artillery and multiple rocket launcher ammunition" from North Korea to Russia last year. In return, "Russia is believed to have provided North Korea with air defence equipment and anti-aircraft missiles", it said. The meeting between Kim and Shoigu in Pyongyang came the same day the North's arch-enemy South Korea swore in new president Lee Jae-myung. In a speech upon taking office Wednesday, Lee vowed to reach out to the North -- a marked departure from his hawkish predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, under whom relations plummeted to their worst level in years. Lee said Seoul would "deter North Korean nuclear and military provocations while opening communication channels and pursuing dialogue and cooperation to build peace on the Korean Peninsula". KCNA reported on Lee's inauguration in a two-line report on Thursday but did not respond to his overtures for talks. It also issued a commentary Thursday slamming French President Emmanuel Macron over "imprudent" comments on Pyongyang's ties with Moscow, calling them "shocking claptrap". The commentary by analyst Choe Ju Hyun took aim at comments by the French leader during the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Macron suggested that the NATO defence alliance could become involved in Asia if China did not do more to press North Korea to stop sending forces to help Russia's war in Ukraine. "It is a mistake if Macron thinks that he can cloak NATO's aggressive and wicked intention to put dirty military shoes on the Asia-Pacific region by taking issue with the DPRK-Russia cooperative relations," the commentary said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Iraqi News
5 hours ago
- Iraqi News
Trump orders an investigation into Biden and his alleged use of the autopen
INA- sources President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed a wide-ranging investigation into former President Joe Biden and officials in his administration, accusing his aides of using 'autopen' signatures to cover up his "cognitive decline" and assert presidential power. Trump frequently uses Biden as a political foil and has sought to undo a number of policies from his predecessor's administration since he returned to office. The announcement Wednesday directs the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether anyone "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." It is an escalation of an issue that Trump and his allies have frequently raised, possibly paving the way for Republicans to argue that many of Biden's actions as president were invalid. "This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump wrote in a memo. "The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts." Trump has acknowledged using the autopen himself in office. In March, he said he turned to it 'only for very unimportant papers,' such as responses to letters. 'But to use them for — for what they've used them for is terrible,' he added, referring to the Biden administration. In Wednesday's memo, Trump further contended that if Biden's aides 'secretly' used the pen to conceal his alleged decline while they were taking executive actions in his stead, 'that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden's name.' Biden defended his record in a statement Wednesday, arguing that the probe was a 'distraction' from Trump and Republican lawmakers. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false,' Biden said. Trump has previously claimed without evidence that Biden used an autopen to sign pre-emptive pardons for the members of Congress who investigated the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, rendering them 'void.' Autopens have long been a mechanical tool to reproduce signatures in the White House, with Barack Obama being the first president to use it to sign legislation, according to The Associated Press. Previous administrations have pointed to a 2005 Office of Legal Counsel memo stating that the president 'need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.' Biden has frequently defended himself against claims about his mental fitness and memory. Former special counsel Robert Hur said in a report last year that Biden would probably present to a jury as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" in explaining his decision not to prosecute Biden after an investigation of his handling of classified documents. Biden rejected Hur's claims about his memory shortly after the report was released last year, saying, "My memory's fine." In an interview with ABC's 'The View' in May, Biden again denied having suffered from mental decline when he was president. 'They are wrong,' he said of the allegations. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is also investigating Biden and has asked several former White House aides to appear for transcribed interviews.
