PUK Official Says Khanaqin Delegation to Visit Baghdad over Article 140

PUKMEDIA

Karwan Yarwais, head of the Khanaqin Centre of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Karwan Yarwais, head of the Khanaqin Centre of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), confirmed that a delegation representing Khanaqin is scheduled to visit to Baghdad on Tuesday to meet with the President and senior federal government officials to discuss the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.

Speaking to PUKMEDIA, Yarwais said, “Our activities are conducted within the framework of the Constitution, and tomorrow we will meet with the President in Baghdad to demand the national rights of the Kurds and the activation of Article 140 of the Constitution.” 

“The demand for the implementation of Article 140 is a constitutional right, and the legitimate demands of the people of the region should not be obstructed,” he said.

Khanaqin is a culturally diverse district in Diyala Governorate and is considered part of Iraq’s disputed territories, where questions over administrative control remain unresolved between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil.

Article 140 of Iraq’s 2005 Constitution provides a framework for addressing the status of the disputed territories through three stages: normalisation, a census and a referendum.

Under Article 140, the executive authority is required to take the necessary steps to complete the implementation of the requirements set out in Article 58 of the Transitional Administrative Law.

Article 58 requires the Iraqi authorities to address the legacy of demographic changes and administrative boundary alterations carried out under the former Baathist regime, particularly in Kirkuk and other areas that subsequently became known as the disputed territories. It also calls for the resolution of property disputes arising from those policies.

The disputed areas extend across several governorates, including Kirkuk, Nineveh, Diyala and Saladin.

Despite the constitutional provisions, the implementation of Article 140 remains incomplete, leaving unresolved questions over administrative control, demographic changes and property ownership in the affected areas.

Kurdish residents of the disputed territories, particularly in Kirkuk, have repeatedly raised concerns over land and property disputes, including claims that land previously belonging to Kurdish residents has been confiscated or transferred to Arab families resettled in the region under previous government policies.



PUKMEDIA