On the afternoon of 20 August, Badr-aligned Watan TV carried MP Abu Turab al-Tamimi commending the prime minister and the armed forces for holding Jurf al-Nasr under security-force administration and saying al-Zaydi is capable of organising weapons within state frameworks. Within roughly seven minutes on either side, KH's own Al-Ittijah TV aired a Diwaniyah correspondent report on residents' demands regarding "the resistance weapons that liberated Iraq from terrorism," and KH-affiliated Sabereen News published a statement attributed to Baghdad tribal sheikhs and notables categorically rejecting the handover of Jurf al-Nasr and affirming adherence to resistance weapons and the PMF. Two lines held by two pro-PMF camps on the same two questions, in the same hour, are what makes the divergence checkable.
- Sabereen NewsKH — affiliated20 Aug, 18:14
“They affirm their categorical rejection of handing over Jurf al-Nasr or allowing terrorism and its incubators to return to it... they also affirm their adherence to the resistance weapons and the Popular Mobilization Forces... and reject any attempts to strip away Iraq's sources of strength”
يؤكدون رفضهم القاطع لتسليم جرف النصر أو السماح بعودة الإرهاب وحواضنه إليها... كما يؤكدون تمسّكهم بسلاح المقاومة والحشد الشعبي... ويرفضون أي محاولات لنزع عوامل قوة العراق
- Al-Ittijah TVKH — official20 Aug, 18:21
“Al-Ittijah's correspondent in Diwaniyah speaks about the province's residents' demands concerning the resistance weapons that liberated Iraq from terrorism”
مراسل (الاتجاه) في الديوانية يتحدث عن مطالب أهالي المحافظة بخصوص سلاح المقاومة الذي حرر العراق من الإرهاب
- Watan TVBadr Organization — affiliated20 Aug, 18:22
“We commend the efforts of the prime minister and the armed forces holding Jurf al-Nasr, which is under the administration of the security forces... and al-Zaydi is capable of organising weapons within state frameworks”
نثمن جهود رئيس الوزراء والقوات المسلحة التي تُمسك جرف النصر وهي تحت ادارة القوات الامنية... والزيدي قادر على تنظيم السلاح في أطر الدولة
- Watan TVBadr Organization — affiliated20 Aug, 18:22
“Jurf al-Nasr was harmed by terrorism and needs a security-organisation process and close follow-up... it is not possible to compare the strongholds of terrorism with those who confronted terrorism and gave martyrs”
جرف النصر تضررت من الارهاب وهي بحاجة لعملية تنظيم امني ومتابعة حثيثة... من غير الممكن مقارنة معاقل الإرهاب مع من تصدى للإرهاب واعطى الشهداء
The pro-PMF camp is not speaking with one voice on whether weapons regulation belongs to the state, and that split runs through the same territory dispute that the PMF law debate touches.