Minister needed to speed up reforms in Peshmerga ministry: Qubad Talabani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani on Wednesday told a top American defence delegation that the absence of a minister at the Peshmerga ministry has affected the process of reforms in the force. 

Peshmerga Minister Shoresh Ismail, from Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was unhappy with political parties interfering in the ministry and submitted his resignation late last year. He is no longer filling the role even though his resignation has not yet been officially accepted by the Council of Ministers. The failure to appoint a new minister is believed to be related to tensions between the PUK and its rival, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Deputy PM Talabani received a US defense delegation, led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for the Middle East Dana Stroul, on Wednesday. 

Talabani said in a statement that he told the American delegation that “an acting minister should be appointed for the ministry of peshmerga as soon as possible in order to speed up the process of reforms and implement the memorandum of understanding between Peshmerga ministry and the US Department of Defence,” adding that a minister can lead bilateral meeting as well.  

Under the supervision of Western allies, especially the US, Kurdish authorities have launched a reforms process in the Peshmerga forces with the hope of bringing all units under the control of the Peshmerga ministry. Some units are still affiliated to the ruling parties. 

Washington in September signed the renewal of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of Peshmerga.  

The signing of the first MoU between the Peshmerga ministry and the Pentagon was first signed in 2016 under Former President of Kurdistan Region and KDP Leader Masoud Barzani, and has been extended several times since.

A senior official from the Peshmerga ministry said in March that the reforms in the force are progressing “very slowly,” blaming KDP-PUK tensions. 

Relations between the KDP and PUK have gone through rocky periods over the decades. Recently, tensions have been heightened over finances, transparency in the provinces under their influence, and the assassination of a former PUK colonel in the KDP-held city of Erbil in October. 

The PUK appointed Rebaz Birkoti as a replacement of Ismail but the Council of Ministers, controlled by the KDP, and the parliament have yet to approve it. The delay is reportedly associated with tensions between the governing parties.

Last month, the Iraqi supreme court deemed the Kurdish legislature's recent self-extension “unconstitutional.” This makes it even harder to appoint a new minister. 

However, appointing an acting minister, as suggested by Talabani, is possible as it does not need the approval of the parliament. But it is not clear if the KDP will endorse such an attempt.