Caretaker Kurdistan "government" rejects dual admin claims

Caretaker Kurdistan government rejects allegations of dual administration — Peshawa Hawramani KRG spokesperson, January 2025. Photo: Hawramani’s X/via iKurd.net

KDP Warns PUK: U.S. Knows Who Got the Weapons, Truth Will Surface

ERBIL,— The caretaker Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pushed back Monday against claims that Iraqi Kurdistan operates under two separate administrations, calling such assertions baseless and misleading.

KRG spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani issued a written statement responding directly to remarks made by Bafel Talabani, president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), who suggested the region functions under a dual administration and raised questions about American weapons being delivered to Kurdish factions.

“The Kurdistan Regional Government is a constitutionally recognized federal government, and it is the result of the blood of martyrs, struggle, and the efforts of the people of Kurdistan,” Hawramani said.

He added that continuous attempts to establish a dual administration would not be permitted and would not succeed.

Hawramani said Talabani made his remarks through the media, describing them as misleading claims tied to rumors about American weapons transfers to a Kurdish side.

The spokesperson said the party leader was stepping away from responsibility while pointing fingers at others, and that such behavior constituted deliberate misinformation.

On the weapons issue specifically, Hawramani was direct. “If the Americans have given weapons to one side, they themselves know which side they gave them to, and sooner or later the truth will become clear to all sides,” he said, adding there was no need for the level of misinformation surrounding the matter.

Hawramani further stated that Talabani holds no authority to speak on behalf of official institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan, and that his statements were factually incorrect. He said Talabani should not expect that making such claims would remove doubts about himself or his political group.

Iraqi Kurdistan remains politically and geographically split between two dominant families. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by the Barzani family, controls the Erbil and Duhok governorates. The PUK, led by the Talabani family, holds Sulaimani.

The two parties have governed the region under separate but parallel structures for decades, a reality that has repeatedly strained efforts at unified administration.

Nearly two years have passed since the 2024 regional parliamentary elections in Iraqi Kurdistan, yet no new government has been formed.

The regional parliament, once intended to represent the will of the Kurdish people, has largely stopped functioning. The KRG, presented by the Barzanis as the sole legitimate governing authority, continues operating in a caretaker capacity with no resolution in sight.

The dispute reflects deepening tensions between the two political families over governance, military resources, and institutional legitimacy in Iraqi Kurdistan, with both sides increasingly taking their disagreements into the public arena through media statements and political pressure.