Latest news with #MahmaKhalil
Shafaq News
5 days ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Eid al-Adha salary standoff: Kurds criticize Baghdad over unpaid wages
Shafaq News/ Kurdish officials criticized Baghdad's continued suspension of public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region, as the standoff persists days before Eid al-Adha. During a child development forum, Kurdistan's Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Pshtiwan Sadq, argued the dispute goes beyond payroll delays, accusing Baghdad of undermining constitutional rights. 'This is betrayal and injustice.' Meanwhile, Kurdish MP Mahma Khalil criticized the freeze at a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-led event distributing financial aid to Yazidi survivors of ISIS, remarking, 'Iraq supports other nations while neglecting its own citizens.' Their remarks followed a joint statement by 43 Kurdish parties denouncing the Finance Ministry's actions as unconstitutional. The statement came in response to Iraqi MP Raad al-Maliki's claim that the KRG had 'failed' to deliver its oil and non-oil revenues. The rift, rooted in ongoing disputes over oil exports and budget entitlements, deepened after the 2023 shutdown of the Kurdistan pipeline to Turkiye's Ceyhan port. Since then, Erbil has received only monthly advances, not its full budget allocation, fueling mistrust and complicating negotiations. Last week, the KRG Ministry of Finance urged Baghdad to resume payments for employees, pensioners, welfare recipients, and the families of martyrs, accusing federal authorities of using legal pretexts to delay disbursements.
Shafaq News
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Yazidi MP challenges Iraq's Amnesty Law, citing ISIS atrocities
Shafaq News/ Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil announced on Saturday his plan to challenge Iraq's newly passed General Amnesty Law before the Federal Supreme Court, rejecting any pardons for individuals involved in crimes against Yazidis and other Iraqis. "We categorically refuse to grant amnesty to those whose hands are stained with the blood of Yazidis and all Iraqis who fell victim to ISIS," Khalil said during a press conference in Duhok, vowing to submit his legal challenge within the next two days. "Some officials were partners in the atrocities we endured," he said, condemning the return of ISIS families to the Al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh while "our displaced Yazidi people remain in camps." Khalil also accused Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement of being complicit in what he described as an "ongoing genocide," urging authorities to keep Sinjar's plight free from political disputes. "The Yazidi tragedy should not be exploited for political gains," he stressed. Calling the suffering of Yazidis a "global humanitarian issue," Khalil criticized local authorities in Nineveh for failing to address the genocide with the seriousness it deserves.
Shafaq News
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq urged to rescue over 2,000 Yazidis held by ISIS
Shafaq News/ Iraqi authorities face growing pressure to locate and recover over 2,000 Yazidis who remain missing nearly a decade after their abduction by Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014. "Most of the [2,592] missing Yazidis are in Syria," Iraqi lawmaker Mahma Khalil told Shafaq News, warning that ISIS had changed the names of kidnapped Yazidis and erased their linguistic identity, complicating rescue efforts. Intelligence reports suggest that others have also been taken to Turkiye. Khalil emphasized that 'the government is obligated to recover kidnapped and forcibly disappeared citizens under the Iraqi constitution and law,' urging Syria's new government to take concrete steps—not just issue statements—to release these abductees. ISIS Background ISIS overran Iraq's Sinjar, the heartland of the Yazidi community, in August 2014, committing mass executions and enslaving thousands. A year later, Kurdish Peshmerga forces, backed by the US-led Coalition, recaptured the town. By August 2017, Iraqi forces had expelled ISIS from Nineveh province and later declared victory over the group. In July 2023, Iraqi authorities reported the discovery of 93 mass graves believed to contain Yazidi victims, with 32 still awaiting excavation in Sinjar and Baaj districts. The United Nations estimates that ISIS left behind more than 200 mass graves across Iraq, potentially holding up to 12,000 bodies. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been instrumental in efforts to rescue Yazidi captives through a program launched by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, securing the release of nearly 3,600 Yazidis as of December 2024, according to KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy Dindar Zebari. 'The Kurdistan government remains committed to freeing Yazidi captives, with 3,579 individuals rescued from a total of 6,417,' Zebari said, adding that 'financial assistance has been provided to more than 3,500 Yazidis who escaped ISIS captivity.'
