Deputy Speaker Hails Salary Deal, Blames 'Irresponsible Parties' for Delay
Iraq's Deputy Speaker confirms a salary deal to pay Kurdistan Region employees. He praised public resilience and blamed 'irresponsible parties' for using false data to try and delay the agreement.
By Kamaran Aziz
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iraq's Deputy Speaker Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah on Friday announced that an understanding between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government will finally release delayed salaries, while simultaneously accusing a "handful" of irresponsible parties of attempting to derail the agreement with false data.
In a statement on his official Facebook account, Abdullah said it was a "source of great happiness" that public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region would soon receive salaries for May and June 2025 after an 80-day wait.
The Deputy Speaker stated that some individuals and parties "dealt irresponsibly with the issue of public sector employees' salaries."
He noted that whenever an agreement was near, "an irresponsible statement or the publication of false data" would cause delays. He added that federal officials had placed "unwarranted" trust in what he called "Facebook and live-stream personalities," until it became clear that only official government data was correct.
Abdullah suggested it is unacceptable for any political force to wish for people to be starved or for problems to persist in order to exploit the situation for elections, calling for a set of "national principles, sanctities, and values" to be protected.
Praising the resilience of the public, he questioned what resolve could have endured the hardship of nearly three months without salaries if not for the people's consciousness and "love for their land." He said this stance proved that "national belonging among the people of the Kurdistan Region had not disappeared or weakened."
Abdullah asserted that the breakthrough proved "strength lies in unity and solidarity" and is a "powerful weapon for guaranteeing our rights." He credited the "unified voice" of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
He extended special thanks to President Masoud Barzani for his constant engagement, as well as to the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who he said "showed great flexibility to resolve this issue and relinquished a portion of the Region's rights."
He also thanked the KRG negotiating delegation and Kurdish officials in Baghdad.
Abdullah concluded by expressing his hope that the salary issue would be resolved "once and for all" and that the livelihood of the people would no longer be entangled with political, administrative, and technical problems.
