Iraqi FM arrives in parliament, summoned over corruption

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim al-Jaafari on Thursday arrived in parliament to be summoned over corruption cases in his ministry.

On Sep. 25, Adil Nouri, a Kurdish member of Iraqi parliament, told Kurdistan24 that 70 signatures had been collected to bring Jaafari back to the assembly to question him about corruption cases related to his ministry.

Since then, the number of signatures collected have passed the minimum required to summon Jaafari to parliament for questioning.

On Aug. 25, the Iraqi parliament sacked Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi over corruption allegations.

He was removed from office as Iraqi security forces began preparations for the military operation in Mosul, the second-largest city under the control of the Islamic State (IS) and their de-facto capital.

Despite Obeidi’s denial of being involved in weapons purchasing contracts, a large proportion of Iraqi lawmakers voted to withdraw confidence from him.

Obeidi accused Salim al-Jabouri and five other lawmakers of plotting to weaken the Iraqi government.

“Those who brought Iraq to where it is now have triumphed,” Obeidi wrote on his official Facebook account.

“I tried with everything to fight corruption, but it appears its masters are stronger, their voices louder, and their actions more enduring,” he continued.

On Sep. 21, the Iraqi parliament also withdrew confidence from Hoshyar Zebari, the Minister of Finance.

A total of 158 MPs voted for removing confidence from him, 77 voted against the measure while 14 abstained.

Iraq is largely suffering from financial, security, and political turmoil. Political instability has risen in the country after the federal government failed to make necessary reform in the cabinet.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany