ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Planning Ministry on Monday issued a decree upgrading Diyala’s Jalawla from a sub-district to a district, a move that has drawn opposition from a majority of the Diyala provincial council, which has called for the decision to be suspended.
Planning ministry spokesperson, Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawi, told Rudaw on Monday that acting Planning Minister Khaled al-Najm “issued an order to upgrade Jalawla within the borders of Diyala province to a district.”
The decision follows a January 31, 2024, vote by the Diyala provincial council to elevate Jalawla to district status. The move has been opposed by Kurdish political parties, which say it amounts to a renewed attempt to alter demographics and seize territory.
The planning ministry, in a statement on Monday, said that move is “a step aimed at strengthening the administrative organization and supporting the local development requirements in the jurisdiction.”
According to the ministry, Jalawla as a district “has multiple spatial and developmental advantages,” including links to other provinces, the availability of “promising economic and agricultural settlements,” and tourism potential tied to Lake Hamreen.
Jalawla, previously under Khanaqin district, is one of the disputed territories covered by Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which outlines a process to resolve the status of areas contested between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Nine of the council’s 15 members - an absolute majority - have now formally requested that the acting planning minister halt the administrative procedures. According to a letter dated February 22, 2026 and obtained by Rudaw, the signatories called for suspending the move and referenced a similar decision concerning the Saadiya sub-district, rejecting its separation from Khanaqin district.