Iraqi Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Torhan al-Mufti caused confusion among the media and the public when he announced on Jan. 21 that the Iraqi government had agreed to transform two districts — Talafar in the Ninevah province and Tuz Khurmato in the Salahuddin province — into provinces. Both of these districts have a Turkmen majority. 

Yet, Mufti, who belongs to the Turkmen minority himself, only mentioned the parts that related specifically to Turkmen when speaking about these decisions. In fact, the decisions — issued in a statement on the same day — referred to two points:

First: "[The Iraqi government] has agreed, in principle, to turn the districts of Tuz Khurmato, Fallujah and the Ninevah Plains into provinces, and the cabinet will decide on this after the fulfillment of the necessary requirements. A committee will be formed that is headed by the concerned minister of state [Mufti], and includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Municipalities and the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. This committee will develop the controls and standards to support transforming the districts into provinces."

Second: "[The Iraqi government] has agreed on a draft law to create the province of Talafar in the Iraqi Republic, and it will be referred to the parliament based on the provisions of Article 61 (Item I) and Article 80 (Item II) of the constitution."