(Xinhua) -- Iraqi leaders on Tuesday called for urgent talks among the country's political parties to end the deepening political crisis after a judicial body issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi on terror charges.| A time to worry: Joe Biden is working the phones to defuse the crisis... |
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani criticized the hasty action of issuing arrest warrant against Hashimi, a Sunni Arab, which sparked tensions among Iraq's Sunni and Shi'ite communities.
In a statement on the website of his office, Talabani said that such move that "directly touch the national political reconstruction entails participation by all parties in actions and decisions with guaranteeing full independence of the judiciary and non-interference in its affairs."
He affirmed that the political parties "have to exercise utmost sense of responsibility and discipline" by avoiding provocative blurbs to provide appropriate environment for the calm political action.
Parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi on Tuesday described the disclose of confessions of Hashimi's bodyguards as "clear tendency to spread suspicion among us."
Nujaifi called for "a national conference at a time when the political process is exposed to violent shocks."
The country's highest judiciary body issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi on terror charges Monday, based on the Article Four of the country's anti-terrorism law.
The latest political row came after Hashimi's Sunni-backed parliamentary bloc of Iraqia, headed by Ayad Allawi, boycotted the parliament sessions since Saturday in protest over Maliki's attempts to alleged monopolizing power after the U.S. troops pulled out of the country.
On Sunday, Maliki asked the parliament to withdraw confidence from his Sunni deputy Salih al-Mutlak after the latter described Maliki as "dictator."
The latest development shows the growing struggle between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's leading Shi'ite bloc and his political rivals, as the U.S. troops concluded their withdrawal plan Sunday, leaving less than 200 personnel in the country on training mission.