BAGHDAD — Iraq's Administrative Court has put a hold on an attempt to remove Falih al-Fayadh from his posts as leader of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and as an adviser and head of the National Security Council. 

The PMU is an umbrella military organization made up of dozens of militia groups, mostly Shiite ones. Outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had dismissed Fayadh from his positions Aug. 30, citing “the Iraqi Constitution and the neutrality of the security and intelligence services” in politics. He explained that Fayadh’s “involvement in political and partisan work” was contrary to the “sensitive security tasks that he undertakes.”

But the court on Oct. 15 suspended Abadi's order, citing security issues: “It would be impossible to make up for the damage caused by the implementation of the contested decision, since [Fayadh] is responsible for a number of security agencies and leaving his responsibilities unattended would result in instability, given the prevailing security conditions and terrorist threats.”

Abadi disagreed with the court's assessment that removing Fayadh created a security issue. Significantly, as Abadi noted in an Oct. 16 response, the court hadn't nullified his decision to remove Fayadh, rather it simply suspended its implementation.