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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s organization in Iraq declared Tuesday that former Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki does not represent the Shiite paramilitary force that is fighting alongside the Iraqi military.“Maliki does not represent Hashd al-Shaabi and has nothing to do with this foundation,” said Ibrahim Jabri, media officer to Sadr. He said the force was established under a religious decree by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric.“Maliki is far from the Hashd al-Shaabi. Go ask him how many members of his family have been martyred alongside the Hashd al-Shaabi,” he asked.The Hashd al-Shaabi was formed by the Iraqi Interior Ministry when Maliki was in power to fight ISIS after the group’s takeover of a third of Iraq in mid-2014. The group was since then reportedly taking orders from Maliki.On many occasions Maliki has supported the Shiite paramilitaries as being an active force in the fight against ISIS.Meanwhile, members of the Iraqi parliament voted on Saturday to recognize the Hashd as an official force with similar rights as the regular army.The parliamentary decree also stipulates that members of all of Iraq’s ethnic and religious groups will have the right to the join the Hashd, which will be reorganized by the military following the ongoing Mosul operation against ISIS.“Hashd al-Shaabi represents all Iraqi groups. Politicians should not impose their hegemony on it. And we are for changing the name to Hashd al-Watani,” which means nationalist force in Arabic, Jabri said.