Parliament Presidency Forms Committee to Investigate Closure of Al-Shib Crossing; Maysan MPs Demand Reopening
The Parliament's presidency formed a committee to determine the reasons for the closure of the Al-Shib crossing with Iran and to submit a report within 72 hours, while Maysan MPs and the provincial council demand its reopening within three days and threaten civil disobedience.
Sakr al-Mahmoudawi, a member of the Parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, announced on Sunday the formation of a parliamentary committee to examine the reasons for the closure of the Al-Shib border crossing with Iran in Maysan Governorate.
Al-Mahmoudawi said the Presidency of the Council of Representatives decided to form the committee with membership from MPs representing Maysan Governorate and in coordination with the Border Crossings Committee, noting that the committee is required to submit a report on the reasons for the closure within 72 hours per the directive.
Meanwhile, MPs from Maysan urged Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to immediately reopen the Al-Shib crossing, warning of the consequences of its closure on the economic and living conditions in the governorate and across the country.
MP Mohammed al-Fartusi said during a press conference attended by a number of the province's MPs that the crossing represents an economic lifeline for Maysan, and that its closure has contributed to rising food prices and prevented a number of patients and those seeking treatment from traveling through it.
Al-Fartusi added that the decision cut the livelihoods of hundreds of families who depend on work at the crossing — including vehicle owners, traders and workers — and that the province's MPs were not given prior notice of the closure decision, which surprised citizens.
He also pointed to escalating protests in the governorate, including the blocking of the road leading to oil companies, warning that continued closure would cause damage beyond Maysan's borders and extend to other areas.
For his part, Maysan Provincial Council Chairman Mustafa Da'ir, speaking at a press conference held at the crossing site, called on the federal government in Baghdad to expedite the reopening of the Al-Shib crossing within three days, warning that if this request is not met within the allotted period the governorate will declare civil disobedience, close all roads and sever ties with the rest of the country.
The Iraqi government had decided on Tuesday, 20 October (this month) to close the Al-Shib border crossing with Iran until further notice.
