Iraqi PM visits top Shiite spiritual leader in Najaf

Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al- Jaafari visited Friday Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani at his home in Najaf.

Jaafari headed immediately to Sistani's house, near the holy Shiite shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, some 160 km south of the capital, to hold discussions about the text of the country's constitution with the Iranian-born Sistani, who made several general comments.

"Sistani confirmed that the constitution should reflect the different components of the Iraqi people, and it should express their sectarian, ethnic and political make-up," Jaafari told reporters after the meeting.

Asked about Sistani's opinion about federalism, Jaafari said, " His eminence is not against the principle of federalism, because it is the choice of the people."

"The details of the process are left to the constitution," Jaafari added.

Meanwhile, Iraqi leaders were scheduled to meet on Friday to resolve constitutional problems, but officials in Baghdad said the meeting was postponed for two days because of the emergency meeting of the Kurdish regional parliament.

The meeting had been called by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to break the deadlock on drafting a new constitution and resolve troublesome issues on which members of the Constitutional Committee have so far failed to agree.

Under US pressures, the Iraqi leaders have pledged to draft a new constitution by Aug. 15, as scheduled in the Transitional Administrative Law, which runs the country since June 2004.

Source: Xinhua