PUK Efforts Overturn Jalawla Status Change

Kurdsat

The road to Jalawla in Khanaqin.

Through the efforts of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the district status of Jalawla was abolished and the area was returned to being a sub-district within Khanaqin district.

Aws Mahdawi, a member of the Diyala Provincial Council from the PUK bloc, stated that the council had passed a legally binding decision to suspend the district status of Jalawla.

He explained that the decision was based on Articles 5, 115 and 122 — particularly Article 140 — of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution. Under the new resolution, both Jalawla and Saadiyah will remain unchanged and be administratively returned to Khanaqin District.

Mahdawi expressed appreciation to the provincial council and the Governor of Diyala for responding to their request. He added that an official letter would be sent to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning requesting the cancellation of the decision to upgrade Jalawla to district status, in order to safeguard its administrative and constitutional standing.

The disputed Jalawla was recently upgraded from a sub-district to a full district within Diyala by the Iraqi government. Kurdish authorities, however, insist the move is illegal, as Jalawla is part of the territories contested between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The General Board of Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region has expressed strong opposition to the reported change in the administrative status of the disputed Jalawla sub-district into a district without joint approval from both the KRG and the Federal Government in Baghdad.

In a statement, Fahmi Burhan, Chairman of the General Board, said that altering Jalawla’s administrative designation without mutual agreement constitutes another attempt to alter the demographic composition of Kurdish areas.

He stressed that such a move contravenes the general principles of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution, which outlines the mechanism for resolving the status of disputed territories.

Burhan described the unilateral decision as a clear indication of a lack of serious commitment to the Constitution and to mutual understanding between Erbil and Baghdad. He warned that the failure of Kurdish representatives in Baghdad to prevent such measures could lead to further deterioration and heightened risks.

The disputed territories, which extend across the provinces of Diyala Governorate, Kirkuk Governorate, Nineveh Governorate and Saladin Governorate, are widely recognised as areas in which the former Iraqi Ba’ath regime pursued systematic Arabisation policies — a central factor underlying the ongoing disputes.

Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution was specifically drafted to address the status of the territories disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. However, the article has yet to be fully implemented.



PUKMEDIA