Roj Bash Kurdistan

ERBIL - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is expected to open an office in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

The news comes as a Sadrist delegation led by Baha al-Aaraji, the head of Sadr's Ahrar bloc, arrived in Erbil today and met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister-elect Nechirvan Barzani.

Farhad Atroushi, a Kurdish MP in Baghdad, who accompanied the Sadrist delegation, told AKnews the visit is aimed at strengthening Shiite-Kurd relations.

"The delegation said that they [the Sadrists] were not ready to harm their relations with the Kurds for anyone or any party" said Atroushi.

Muqtada Sadr will open an office in Erbil, which will be run by one of his representatives, and that comes with the framework of strengthening relations."

President of Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani said in an address during Nawroz that Shiite-Kurd relations were strong and would "further develop them".

But he also criticized Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his strong grip on power in Baghdad.

"Kurds have no issues with Shiites or the ruling Dawa Party. Our problem with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and a number of other officials [in Baghdad] is a political one," Atroushi said.

brendar wrote:Wow what an achievement of a legally terrorist organisation inside Kurdistan. Trust me in this way, Kurdistan will likely be open to these Muslim terrorists. Anyways, we know that KRG doesnt have the power to refuse them, otherwise our ugly iranian muslim brothers will not like it. End of story

Not really since Muqatada is a Shia, I doubt he'll even try to influence Kurds. His concern is siezing power in Iraq, his movement has got alot of support.

While I can not validate KRG's silk glove policy in dealing with an uneducated,idiot , pathetic , football hating Muqtada , I'm sure they are doing for good reasons ,because so far they have been on the spot in dealing with everyone . Keep in mind that they can shut them down any time if they ever cross the line .