Terrorist group PKK slowed down the disarmament process as the region faces the threat of instability amid the U.S.-Israel-Iran war.
It had announced that it would dissolve itself starting last summer, as part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 2024. Türkiye responded by preparing legislation to facilitate the process and future of PKK members. Legislative work still awaits confirmation of the PKK’s full disarmament, a process monitored by the Turkish intelligence. The surveillance shows the PKK is dragging its feet in the process, which will mean that the initiative will conclude much later than expected. Authorities hoped that the full disarmament would be completed earlier this spring.
The terrorist group had earlier slowed down disarmament while its Syrian wing, the YPG, was in the process of integration with the Syrian army. The group resumed the pace later, but the new conflict in the region apparently hindered it again. Authorities expected the PKK to evacuate caves in northern Iraq used as hideouts by the group by the end of this month, but this seems to be delayed as well.
The PKK’s jailed ringleader, Abdullah Öcalan, who initiated the disarmament with a landmark February 2025 call, has reacted to the slowdown during a meeting with a delegation from the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). Öcalan questioned why the PKK did not evacuate the caves and abandon arms and is expected to renew his call for disarmament soon. Following this warning, it is expected that the areas used by the PKK in northern Iraq, including the Qandil mountain hideouts where senior cadres of the group hide, are expected to be evacuated.
Türkiye remains committed to the initiative, although legal regulations are not expected to move forward before disarmament reaches a certain level. To that extent, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who also chaired a parliamentary committee for terror-free Türkiye, will soon announce a legislative proposal for return of PKK members to Türkiye.
The proposal is planned to be shared with the public and passed through Parliament after the disarmament is verified.
Sources from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) stated that announcing a legislative proposal at this stage is not correct. “We are very determined regarding the disarmament but we will not take steps unless what is necessary is done. We do not believe that enacting a law or announcing a proposal before weapons are laid down will provide any contribution,” sources said.
