Hawzah News Agency (Karbala, Iraq) – Senior Iraqi cleric Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Taqi al-Modarresi asked Iraqi nation, religious scholars as well as political leaders to start planning for the upcoming elections in Iraq and seize this opportunity to bring about a great civilizational change in the Arab country.

In his weekly statement, the Shia scholar asserted, "I hereby ask the religious scholars and political parties to make serious efforts in order to unite Iraqi people and lead the country toward a brighter future."

The Iraqi cleric further stressed creating a roadmap for the future of Iraq to change the status quo, "We need to come up with a clear roadmap and present it to our nation so that every citizen realizes their part in bringing about the change and progress we seek in the country. We all must play our role in solving present issues within Iraq."

Ayatollah Modarresi went on to say, "The absence of such clearly-defined roadmap for our future will send our country into chaos and cause new crises."

The senior cleric also expressed happiness over Iraqi Kurdistan issue saying, "We really hope that the process of addressing the issue of Iraqi Kurdistan will be accelerated in order to initiate a comprehensive development plan for Iraq."