Iraq’s Kurdish parties threaten federal court challenge over Khanaqin district move

Shafaq News- Erbil

Kurdish parties active in Iraq’s disputed territories on Thursday rejected a federal decision to convert subdistricts in Khanaqin into independent districts under Diyala province, calling it demographic and political targeting.

The stance followed an expanded meeting in Erbil under the Committee on Kurdistani Areas outside the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Administrative Area. Committee head Fahmi Burhan revealed in a press conference that all Kurdish forces agreed on a unified response to what he described as “an attempt to isolate Khanaqin’s historic center.”

“If no political and administrative solution is reached, we will file a case before the Federal Supreme Court,” Burhan said, adding that coordination is underway with the Kurdistan Region presidency and Kurdish officials in Baghdad to halt the decision.

Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, has a population of nearly 1.6 million people from Arab, Kurdish, and Turkmen communities, and several of its districts are classified as disputed territories under the Iraqi Constitution.

Iraq on Monday officially upgraded Jalawla, located about 70 kilometers northeast of Baquba and home to roughly 94,000 residents, from a subdistrict to a full district, granting it administrative authority over surrounding areas. In 2025, the country also approved elevating Qara Tapa to district status.

A general strike on Wednesday shut markets and state institutions in Khanaqin in protest against the changes, despite the areas being covered by Article 140 of the 2005 Constitution, which prescribes normalization, census, and referendum to determine the status of disputed territories.

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