PUK Faction: Iraqi Government, KRG Must Collaborate to Protect Borders

PUKMEDIA

Harem Kamal Agha, the leader of the PUK fraction in the Iraqi parliament.

Harem Kamal Agha, the leader of the PUK fraction in the Iraqi parliament, said during an exclusive interview with PUKMEDIA that it is the responsibility of the Iraqi government to protect the borders and territory of the Kurdistan Region in collaboration with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The full interview:

Q: Why is the security gap in the disputed areas not being addressed?

Harem Kamal Agha: "As the PUK faction, we have engaged in talks with the security authorities of the federal government to address the security vacuum in the disputed areas and deploy forces to the areas that were previously under the control of the Islamic State (ISIS). This issue must be resolved in the next few days and the martyrdom of security forces and Peshmerga forces must be prevented."

Q: What will be the position of the federal government on the violation of the Kurdistan Region's territory?

Harem Kamal Agha: “It is the duty of the Iraqi government to protect the borders and territory of the Kurdistan Region in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The current events occurring, crossing the Kurdistan Region's border under various justifications, are in violation of international law and are not in line with the principles of neighbouring countries. However, based on our knowledge and monitoring, the Iraqi government has not received any official notice or mentioned in any security meetings that it has been informed of the aggression against the Kurdistan Region. Conversely, there were only complaints against the violation of the Kurdistan Region's borders at the meetings."

Q: When will the sessions of the Iraqi parliament resume? Is the legislative recess over?

Harem Kamal Agha: "The legislative break of the Iraqi parliament concluded on 9 July 2024. However, the resumption of work for the MPs and the parliament has been delayed due to traffic closures caused by holidays and ceremonies taking place in Iraq this week. The parliamentary sessions will certainly recommence next week, and the agenda will be disclosed as well."

Q: What were the efforts of the PUK faction for the salaries of the Kurdistan Region's security forces? What has been done to resolve their salary arrears?

Harem Kamal Agha: "The PUK faction and our members in the Finance Committee of the Iraqi parliament have been consistently working to resolve the issue of security forces' salaries. Fortunately, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani decided to pay the security forces' salaries for the months of May and June."

"The Iraqi Supervision and Finance Bureau is now conducting an examination of the salary list for the security forces in the Kurdistan Region. Measures are being taken to prevent any further delays in the payment of salaries to the security forces. The delay in the payment of salaries, particularly for the security forces, was caused by the federal government's delay in receiving the requested salary list and data from the KRG."

Q: Will the salaries of the Peshmerga forces be added to the lists of Iraqi Defense Forces? Or is there any effort to match their salaries with Iraq?

Harem Kamal Agha: "The Peshmerga forces must be added to the lists of the Iraqi Defense Forces according to the budget and the decision of the Federal Court. However, the salaries of the Peshmerga forces will continue to be a part of the Kurdistan Region's budget. There have been suggestions to make the salaries of the Peshmerga forces equivalent to those of the Iraqi Defence Forces."



PUKMEDIA