The spiritual leader of Iraq’s Shia majority has called for the creation of a new, “effective” Government, increasing pressure on the country’s Premier as an offensive by Sunni militants rages on.
The call on Friday by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani contained thinly veiled criticism that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in office since 2006, was to blame for the nation’s crisis over the blitz by the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State in Iraq and the levant.
Al-Sistani’s message was delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the holy city of Karbala.
He said the future Government “should open new horizons toward a better future for all Iraqis.”
Al-Maliki’s Shiite-led Government long has faced criticism of discriminating against Iraq’s Sunni and Kurdish populations.