Shafaq News- Diyala

Recent remarks by the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Khanaqin office were “misunderstood” and were not directed at any particular community, a party representative on the Diyala Provincial Council said on Wednesday.

“We do not accept statements that offend any community,” PUK council member Aws Al-Mahdawi said at a press conference, clarifying that the remarks referred specifically to individuals who, he said, had moved to Khanaqin in violation of regulations governing the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.

Article 140 addresses territories disputed between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region. Al-Mahdawi said its implementation committee, headed by Badr Organization leader Hadi al-Amiri, issues instructions governing administrative procedures in those areas.

Read more: Khanaqin tensions: Why is Iraq’s Article 140 back in focus?

Al-Mahdawi said Khanaqin remains part of Iraq and Diyala province and that the district commissioner operates within the local government’s administrative structure.

He accused “fake and paid pages” of exploiting recent events to fuel tensions, saying Khanaqin remains a sensitive issue because residents have been displaced since the Baath regime and government decisions call for their return.

Khanaqin Qaimaqam (district commissioner) Jawad Fayadhallah said the Provincial Council had summoned him to discuss several issues concerning the district. “We are government employees and apply only the law,” Fayadhallah said, adding that Khanaqin was stable, detainees had been released, and there were currently no arrests or arrest warrants against activists, young people or political figures.

On September 2, a delegation of Kurdish political parties, politicians and activists from Khanaqin presented President Nizar Amedi with 12 demands concerning security, administration and public services in the district.

Read more: Daily life inside Khanaqin’s quietly shifting frontier