Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says his Iraqiya bloc will end its boycott of Parliament if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, respects the power-sharing agreement between the major forces in the country.

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says his Iraqiya bloc will end its boycott of Parliament if Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, respects the power-sharing agreement between the major forces in the country.

"Once we see positive steps taken by the government to reduce the tension, to embark on dialogue and to revert back to the agreement of power sharing, then of course we will reciprocate," Allawi said in an interview with al-Jazeera channel.

Allawi also accused Maliki of targeting Iraqiya bloc, adding that the power-sharing agreement had not been honored.
"The Iraqiya constituencies have been targeted - widespread arrests, torture, intimidation, expulsions and then this moved into targeting the leaders of Iraqiya accusing them in the media of doing wrong things," he said.

"We saw no movements along the lines of implementing the power sharing and then these intimidations started.

"We agreed to attend the national conference to find a way out of the mess that Iraq is in."

Last month, Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant against Tariq al-Hashemi, the vice president, charging he ran death squads that targeted Shia officials.

In protest, Iraqiya began boycotting parliament and cabinet sessions. On Tuesday, the remaining cabinet ministers suspended the members until they ended their boycott.

Hashemi denied the charges and fled to the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, out of reach of authorities in Baghdad.
He is refusing to return for trial in Baghdad, the capital.