Iraqi constitution committee faces deadline

Members of the constitution drafting committee continue their efforts to settle differences on pending issues in the draft constitution so as to finalize it by its set date of August 15th.

The committee's 71 members have not maintained agreement on several issues including the official name of Iraq, the form of the federation, the problem of Karkouk and the fate of the Bashmarga Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish member in the committee Munzir al-Fadel said that Monday is the date at which they have to decide if they need another 6 months extension to finish the work or not, noting he is not optimistic over reaching an agreement until that day.

For her part, the Shiite female parliament Mariam al-Rayyes said that points of differences will be settled by consistency (equal treatment for all), and that the Sunni and Shiite members agree on the principles of giving the federation to the Kurds.