“In my opinion, those who have decided to participate in the Iraqi parliamentary elections in Kirkuk should not play with the emotions of the people, [on whether] Peshmerga will return and what not,” Karim told Rudaw in an interview this week in Washington, D.C.
Rudaw had reported earlier this month that a PUK official in Kirkuk said the United States was pressuring Iraq to allow Peshmerga forces to return, but Erbil and Baghdad were at odds for the return mechanism, namely whether Asayesh (Kurdish security units) would join the Peshmerga in the redeployment.
The KRG’s prime and Peshmerga ministries separately denied the news.
"So far there has been no official meeting between KRG’s Ministry of Peshmerga and Iraq’s Ministry of Defense or between the regional government and the Iraqi federal government on how to deploy the Peshmerga forces alongside the Iraqi federal forces in the disputed territories,” Jabar Yawar, the secretary-general of the Peshmerga ministry, told reporters on April 5.
Peshmerga forces withdrew from Kirkuk and other disputed areas on October 16 after a deadly incursion by Iraqi forces supported by Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitaries. KDP and some PUK officials blamed some PUK members for betraying their nation.
“If those had been [fully] accepting of Peshmerga, they would not have done this,” Kareem said, saying that many people have requested to meet with him to discover what happened on October 16.
Karim was removed from his post as the governor of Kirkuk by a vote from the Iraqi parliament in 2017. Karim believed the decision wasn’t just, saying the governor of Kirkuk can only be removed by the provincial council. He remained in his position until Baghdad took control of the oil-rich city.
Karim has lived much of his life in the United States, working as a doctor in the D.C. area.
“They say a different thing every day. Yes I will return to Kurdistan,” said Karim, in response to rumors that he would not return to Kurdistan.
The governor expressed that Kurdistan has a clear future.
“I believe the future of Kurdistan is clear. It has a lot of problems currently, but it has a clear future. Our people are a resilient and relentless people. I am sure we will be victorious,” Karim said.
Karim has been longtime PUK member. He did not attend high-level Leadership Council meetings in Sulaimani with Hero Ibrahim and Kosrat Rasul in March and April.
Iraq is set to have parliamentary elections on May 12, and provincial elections are expected later in 2018. Security in Kirkuk province has diminished under Iraqi control. Kurds displaced from the diverse city fear returning and Kurdish party campaign banners have been torn down.
Karim Nuri, a senior leader of the Shiite Fatih Alliance that includes the Hashd al-Shaabi elements, told Rudaw on April 12 that there is no need for Peshmerga forces in the disputed areas because the Iraq has enough forces, adding that only the Iraqi flag should be present there.
Currently the governor is Rakan Ali al-Jabouri, a Sunni Arab, largely accused for a wave of new Arabization in the city. He was appointed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi following the October events.
