Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr would dissolve his powerful Mahdi Army militia provided that Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader orders him to do so, his aide said Monday.
The remarks came after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for the first time definitely demanded the radical political leader to dissolve his gunmen.
"Saiyyd Muqtada al-Sadr will ask the supreme Shiite Marjiyah about disbanding the Mahdi Army," Shiek Hassan al-Zargani told Iraq's Sherqiya TV.
"Sadr will obey the orders of the Shiite Marjiyah (top Shiite religious leadership)," he said referring to Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in the holy city of Najaf.
In an interview broadcast by CNN on Monday, Maliki said Sadr must disband his militia, otherwise, his party will not be allowed to take part in the political process and the provincial elections scheduled for this fall.
Iraq's security troops clashed with Shiite militants last month in Basra and Baghdad.
Maliki said the assaults were aimed at rooting out outlaws, but Sadrists believe they were the target in a politically motivated campaign before the provincial elections.
Bahaa al-Aaraji, a senior Sadr bloc lawmaker, said Monday that the disbanding order should be applied to all armed groups controlled by Iraqi parties.
He also claimed that it is the electoral commission rather than the prime minister who has the authority to set the qualifications for election.
Source:Xinhua
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