Tensions rise over delayed salaries for Kurdistan Region employees

Shafaq News/ Ongoing discord between Erbil and Baghdad has intensified as the transfer of salaries for Kurdistan Region employees faces delays, fueling frustration and concern.

Despite periodic meetings and agreements between the two parties to resolve issues such as salaries, oil exports, and Peshmerga deployment in disputed areas, challenges persist.

The Iraqi government's reluctance to timely disburse salaries has sparked renewed tensions.

On Wednesday, Karwan Yarwis, the representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the Iraqi Parliament, urged Kurdish deputies to consider boycotting parliamentary sessions if the Federal Ministry of Finance fails to transfer the agreed-upon 618 billion dinars to the Kurdistan Region, emphasizing the need for guarantees to prevent future delays in salary disbursements.

This payment was scheduled for January 25.

Yarwis stated, "If the Federal Ministry of Finance refrains from sending funds until tomorrow, Thursday, and does not give guarantees that their sending will not be delayed next month, Kurdish representatives from all Kurdistan blocs must boycott the sessions of the House of Representatives."

He stressed that there is "no justifiable reason for obstructing the disbursement of salaries," which the Council had approved.