BAGHDAD, April 22: Tough-talking Jawad al Maliki, a Shia, was tasked to form a coalition government on Saturday when Iraqi leaders ended four months of political paralysis and vowed to halt sectarian strife and avert any slide to civil war.

“We are going to form a family that will not be based on sectarian or ethnic backgrounds,” Mr Maliki told reporters, seeking to shake off a hardline image and present himself as a man capable of uniting Shias, Sunnis and Kurds.

Earlier the parliament re-elected Jalal Talabani as president. Mr Talabani, a Kurd, is the first non-Arab president of an Arab country.

Mahmoud al Mashhadani was elected as parliamentary speaker. A former medical officer in Saddam Hussein’s army, he was jailed for joining outlawed Islamist groups.

In his first policy speech, Mr Maliki called for Iraq’s powerful militias to be merged with US-trained security forces — an explosive issue in the country because militias are tied to political parties and operate along sectarian lines.

“Arms should be in the hands of the government. There is a law that calls for the merging of militias with the armed forces,” said Mr Maliki, nominated by the ruling United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) — the largest bloc in parliament.

“This is a good day for Iraq. It is an important day for Iraq,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a conference call with reporters in Washington, adding Mr Maliki was someone the United States could work with.

Appointing officials overseeing powerful ministries, including the interior, defence and oil portfolios, will test Mr Maliki’s ability as a deal-maker.—Reuters