SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi cut short his visit to Egypt and returned to Baghdad on Tuesday in light of recent developments in the country according to PM’s media office.
The caretaker Prime Minister who arrived in Egypt on Monday aimed at participating in the five-member summit, an attempt to intensify efforts to enhance economic integration between the five nations of UAE, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan, including security, and joint cooperation talks, Kadhimi arrived back right away.
Kadhimi’s immediate return to Baghdad took place following a protest held by the supporters of Iraqi influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, pushing to enter the highest Judicial authority building in the Iraqi capital.
Sadr supporters gathered today in front of the building of the highest judicial authority in the country, Iraq’s supreme Judicial Council, renewing the call for dissolving the Iraqi parliament and ending corruption.
The protest amid Iraq’s political turmoil compelled the Supreme Judicial Council to suspend the works, it announced in a statement, saying “The government should take responsibility for these unconstitutional and illegal behaviors”.
Prime Minister Kadhimi warned that disrupting the work of the judicial institution exposes the country to real dangers, stressing that the right to protest is constitutionally guaranteed but with the need to respect state institutions, according to a statement from PM’s office.
In the meantime calling for an immediate meeting of the leaders of political forces in order to activate the national dialogue and defuse the crisis.
“The right to peaceful protest is an essential element of democracy. Equally important is the assertion of constitutional compliance and respect for state institutions. State institutions must operate unimpeded in service of the Iraqi people, including the SJC.” UNAMI in a statement said concerning Sadr’s newest movement to paralyze Iraq’s judicial authority.
