ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid on Tuesday ratified a mid-April law elevating Halabja provincial status, officially recognizing it as Iraq’s 19th province and the Kurdistan Region’s 4th.
In a press conference, Halabja’s acting governor expressed her gratitude to the President “who has supported the effort [to make Halabja a province] since day one.” Nuxsha Nasih further extended thanks to political blocs in the Iraqi parliament, “especially the Kurdish factions” that “have worked hard with us,” as well as “the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for its cooperation.”
The Iraqi parliament in mid-April passed the long-awaited bill in a session attended by 178 out of the legislature’s 329 members, formally recognizing Halabja as a province.
The pen used by President Rashid to sign the key decree was notably handed to Halabja’s Acting Governor, Nasih, on Tuesday. She announced that it would be preserved at the Halabja Monument and Museum “as a memory for history.”
KRG Cabinet Secretary Amanj Raheem on Tuesday said that following President Rashid’s ratification of the key bill, the law elevating Halabja to provincial status “will be published in the Official Gazette of Iraq next Monday,” officially putting it into effect.
In the statement he posted on X, Raheem added that “Next Monday, May (2025),” Halabja will officially become the 19th province of Iraq.
Halabja holds deep symbolic importance for Kurds and stands as a testament to their resilience.
On March 16, 1988, near the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, the forces of toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein bombed Halabja with chemical weapons. The gruesome attack claimed the lives of at least 5,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured thousands more.
The province today has a population of about 120,000 and it consists of four subdistricts: Khurmal, Biyara, Bamo, and Sirwan. It is also a tourist destination.
