Iraqi MP: PMF salaries stuck as Qi Card defies payouts
Shafaq News - Baghdad
Iraq's Finance Ministry has released the Popular Mobilization Forces' (PMF) salaries, but private payment operator Qi Card is refusing to process the disbursements, a lawmaker revealed on Sunday.
In a statement, MP Uday Awad al-Tamimi, a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, confirmed that an emergency meeting between the Ministry of Finance and banks is expected to take place to resolve the deadlock. 'Manual distribution may become necessary until an alternative to the electronic payment system is found,' he added.
The standoff follows reports that PMF salaries had been suspended abruptly just two days after their scheduled release. The Fatah Alliance, a major pro-PMF bloc led by Hadi al-Amiri, denied that the issue was politically motivated, citing a 'technical problem' as the cause of the delay.
The dispute comes amid fresh parliamentary efforts to convert the PMF into a full-fledged ministry, a move its supporters argue is justified given its size—over 300,000 members—and access to budgetary resources.
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