The "terror-free Türkiye" initiative for the disarmament of the PKK terrorist group took a new turn this week as Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş began visiting political parties to hold talks on a framework law to speed up the process.

The law is expected to reduce the sentences of PKK members who surrender to authorities.

Kurtulmuş on Tuesday met Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli. Government ally Bahçeli is the architect of the initiative, which informally began with his call to PKK jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan.

In 2024, Bahçeli urged Öcalan to convince the PKK to lay down its arms. Öcalan complied and made the call in February 2025. Soon, the PKK itself announced its dissolution.

Turkish security forces, however, have yet to confirm the group's full disarmament, an essential component of the initiative. The Turkish Parliament is at the heart of the initiative and awaits confirmation of disarmament before proceeding with drafting the framework law. Turkish intelligence is tasked with monitoring the process abroad. The PKK's senior cadres are holed up in northern Iraq, and apart from a ceremony in which the group's members burned their weapons, there have been no signs of disarmament so far.

The parliament speaker's next stop was the parliamentary offices of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). The DEM Party is known for its close links to the PKK, and its lawmakers served as informal envoys between Öcalan and Parliament, relaying his messages on the initiative to the public. A DEM Party delegation visited Öcalan in the island prison where he is held near Istanbul on Monday and released his message to the public hours before Kurtulmuş's visit to the DEM Party on Tuesday.

In his message, Öcalan said they were on the eve of "creating the legal ground for the Kurdish-Turkish alliance." "It is time to create that ground in a way that heeds mutual sensitivities. Let's build a common life by abandoning narrow-minded approaches and act with patience to carve this path, which is a historic opportunity," he said.

Later on Tuesday, Kurtulmuş was scheduled to visit other parties in Parliament, including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

The new law will be temporary in nature and will clearly define the fate of PKK members, according to media reports. The law will also exclude Öcalan and other PKK members who were sentenced to aggravated life imprisonment, though it may offer leniency to other members of the terrorist group. The law will only be implemented after Turkish authorities confirm that the PKK has been fully dissolved and has abandoned its arms.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) sources told the Sabah newspaper last month that the law's rationale was to offer its benefits to members of the group only after they dissolved the organization and Türkiye was able to confirm this. The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are authorized to confirm the disarmament, but the National Security Council (NSC) will have the final say on the matter. Sources say the confirmation will be announced only after the disarmament process reaches around 80%.

It is unclear how long the law will remain in force, but a period of six months to one year is being considered. It will definitely exclude Öcalan, who was sentenced to death on June 29, 1999, on charges of treason, before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Any leniency in the prison terms of Öcalan and other PKK members convicted of acts of terrorism will be out of the question. Those convicted of grave acts of terrorism and currently at large abroad will also be excluded from the law.

The law does not grant amnesty to PKK members, and it will only annul terrorism charges for those imprisoned on charges of PKK membership and those who face prosecution for similar charges. This means early release from prison for some convicts or a significant reduction in their sentences. In most terrorism cases, suspects face a wide variety of charges in addition to those related to acts defined as terrorism under Turkish law. For instance, a convict involved in a bombing would only serve a sentence for manslaughter instead of terrorism. Currently, Türkiye has 4,300 people convicted of terrorism in its prisons. The case of each inmate will be reexamined by the courts once the law is implemented.

For PKK members residing abroad without any criminal record in Türkiye, the country plans to allow their return, although they will be subject to judicial supervision.

PKK's senior cadres, who are currently hiding in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, will also be excluded from the law, while sources say they have already left their hideouts for several other destinations. Sources also say it is believed that the majority of PKK members would not return to Türkiye even if the law is implemented and would instead prefer to settle in Iraq, where they have spent years.