Iraqi Government 'Enjoys Tormenting' KRG Employees, Says Shakhawan Abdullah
Iraq's Deputy Speaker Shakhawan Abdullah accuses Baghdad of "enjoying tormenting" KRG employees by delaying salaries, a tactic Kurdish leaders call political pressure. His comments came as the first part of June's salary was paid and as he vowed to support Kirkuk farmers facing land disputes.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Dr. Shakhawan Abdullah, has launched a scathing critique of the federal government, accusing it of intentionally delaying salary payments to the Kurdistan Region’s public sector employees and taking pleasure in their hardship. His remarks came as the first installment of the long-overdue June salaries was finally transferred, highlighting a persistent and deeply damaging issue that Kurdish leaders have repeatedly condemned as a tool of political pressure and a violation of constitutional rights.
During a visit on Sunday to the farmers of Palkana village in Kirkuk’s Sargaran sub-district, Abdullah addressed the pressing salary crisis in a press statement. He lambasted the federal government for its handling of the June payment, arguing that the decision to disburse the funds was needlessly postponed.
"The decision to disburse the salaries for the month of June could have been made 20 days or a month earlier, because nothing has changed," he stated, suggesting the delay was a deliberate act.
He then delivered his sharpest accusation, asserting, "Unfortunately, the Iraqi government enjoys tormenting our employees and takes pleasure in delaying the payment of their salaries."
Looking ahead, Abdullah noted that the mechanism for disbursing salaries for July and subsequent months would likely remain the same, dependent on decisions from the Council of Ministers and the completion of committee work.
His comments came on the very day that some financial movement was observed. According to information obtained by Shvan Jabbari, a Kurdistan24 correspondent in Baghdad, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance on Sunday morning deposited 690 billion dinars—the first installment of the June salary—into the account of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy at the Erbil branch of the Central Bank.
The correspondent also indicated that a second installment was expected to be disbursed later in the day, after which the KRG would publish its official salary distribution list.
Beyond the salary crisis, Abdullah’s visit to Palkana was a direct response to the ongoing legal and physical harassment faced by Kurdish farmers in the region. He assured them of his unwavering support in their fight to protect their ancestral lands from being seized by Arab settlers using defunct Ba'ath-era contracts.
"This is not the first time that problems have been created for the Kurdish farmers of Palkana village in court and we have resolved them. We will also continue to solve the problems they face," Abdullah told Kurdistan24.
He revealed that he brought "news for the farmers," referencing an Iraqi Council of Ministers decision from August 19 whose implementation is in its final stages. "Until the decision is enacted, we will continue to support them so that their rights are not lost and they are not transgressed against," he affirmed, adding, "What was important was the passing of the law. Now, let them do whatever they want; the important thing is that the law has passed."
One of the Palkana farmers explained the nature of their struggle to Kurdistan24, stating, "A few imported Arabs from the Ba'ath era who had seized the lands from Kurdish farmers have now come and presented those contracts to the court, and the court is siding with them. But Shakhawan Abdullah has promised to support our case in court."
The recurring salary delays are not a new phenomenon but rather a chronic issue at the heart of the fraught relationship between Erbil and Baghdad.
KRG officials have long maintained that the federal government weaponizes the livelihoods of the Kurdistan Region’s people. In a July 2025 interview with Asharq News, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani lamented this tactic, stating, “It is deeply regrettable that the livelihoods of our people are used as leverage in political disputes.”
He stressed that withholding salaries is a constitutional violation, a sentiment echoed forcefully by KRG Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed, who in early August described the policy as a form of "collective punishment." Ahmed warned that the "financial blockade is a catastrophe for the people of Kurdistan" and called for a resolution based firmly within the constitutional framework.
The issue has also drawn the attention of the international community. In a high-level call in late July, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio directly urged Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to ensure the consistent payment of salaries to the Kurdistan Region.
The demand was part of a broader message that also included calls to resume the Region's oil exports and hold accountable those responsible for drone attacks on its energy infrastructure. This international pressure underscores the recognition that financial instability in the Kurdistan Region has wider implications for the stability of Iraq as a whole.
The disputes are rooted in complex disagreements over budget allocations, revenue sharing from federal ministries and customs duties, and the management of oil and gas resources.
As Kurdistan24 previously reported, KRG delegations have made frequent trips to Baghdad to negotiate these outstanding issues. A late August visit focused on the mechanisms for salary disbursement, with sources in the Iraqi Finance Ministry confirming that payments would not proceed without formal approval from the Council of Ministers.
These negotiations are emblematic of a long and difficult history since 2003, where successive Iraqi governments have failed to fully implement constitutional articles guaranteeing the Kurdistan Region’s financial rights, particularly Article 140 concerning the Kurdistani territories outside the KRG's administrative control.
Baghdad’s recurring policy of withholding the budget, most acutely felt in 2014 and 2020, has left millions of public sector employees and their families in severe hardship and has deeply eroded trust, reinforcing a perception among many Kurds that these actions are part of a deliberate strategy to weaken the Region’s autonomy.
Abdullah’s visit to Palkana brings these two parallel struggles—one for financial rights and the other for territorial integrity—into sharp focus, portraying them as two fronts in the same battle for the constitutional rights of the people of Kurdistan.
