Top Iraqi delegation to attend PKK disarmament ceremony

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior delegation from the Iraqi intelligence agency, representing the federal government, will attend the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) disarmament ceremony in Sulaimani on Friday, Iraq’s National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji told Rudaw on Thursday.

“Tomorrow, a high-level delegation from the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, as official representatives of the Federal Government, has been assigned to participate in the disarmament ceremony of the Kurdistan Workers' Party,” Araji said. 

The first batch of PKK fighters will destroy their arms in the presence of the officials, politicians and representatives of civil society organizations in the Sulaimani ceremony. The exact location of the event has yet to be disclosed, and journalists are not allowed to cover the ceremony live. 

The ceremony follows a February appeal from the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, for the group to abandon armed conflict in favor of political engagement. 

Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin separately met with Kurdistan Region’s officials, including President Nechirvan Barzani, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in recent days, discussing security issues, including PKK. 

Iraq banned the PKK in March 2024 from operating in the country, following a top security meeting with a Turkish delegation in Baghdad. The decision came ahead of a landmark visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq.

Founded in 1978, the PKK initially sought to establish an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its focus toward securing broader political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and several of its Western allies.