Al-Muhammadawi Inspects Al-Munthariya Crossing in Preparation for Arba'een Visit

Deputy Commander of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi arrived in Diyala today to monitor preparations for the Arba'een visit via the Al-Munthariya crossing. The Joint Operations Command said that al-Muhammadawi headed a delegation that includes the heads of the security and technical committees, aiming to assess the readiness of security forces and the services provided to visitors. No details of the plans or the financial cost allocated for these preparations were announced, despite the annual repetition of the multi-million-visit gatherings. The responsibility of the Supreme Committee for the multi-million visits includes ensuring the smooth flow of visitors and providing basic services, although previous reports indicated a shortage in health services and public cleanliness during past visit seasons. It remains unclear whether the current visit will include an assessment of these shortcomings or identify the entities responsible for addressing them. According to a statement by the Joint Operations Command, the inspection comes within the framework of following up on the implementation of security and service plans, without mentioning oversight mechanisms or transparency in the distribution of tasks or budgets. The Al-Munthariya crossing is one of the main border points for receiving visitors coming from Iran, which imposes an additional burden on local infrastructure, especially in the absence of long-term plans to improve it.