The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describes its goals as self-determination,human rights,democracy and peace for the Kurdish people of Kurdistan and Iraq. The PUK is currently under the leadership of Bafel Talabani. The PUK was founded in 1975 by Jalal Talabani,Nawshirwan Mustafa,Fuad Masum,Adel Murad,Ali Askari and Abdul Razaq Feyli. All presidents of Iraq under the 2005 constitution have been from this party.
Jalal Talabani was an Iraqi politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2005 to 2014,as well as the president of the Governing Council of Iraq. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq.
The Peshmerga comprise the standing military of Kurdistan Region,an autonomous political entity within the Republic of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq,the Peshmerga and their security subsidiaries are solely responsible for the security of Kurdistan Region,chiefly due to the fact that the Iraqi Armed Forces are forbidden to enter Iraqi Kurdistan. These subsidiaries include Asayish,Parastin ûZanyarî,and Zêrevanî. The Peshmerga's history dates back to the 18th century,when they began as a strictly tribal pseudo-military border guard under the Ottoman Turks and the Safavid Iranians. By the 19th century,they had evolved into a disciplined and well-trained guerrilla force.
Talabani is a surname. It may refer to:
Masoud Barzani is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979,and was President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017.
The Iraqi Kurdish Civil War was a civil war that took place between rival Kurdish factions in Iraqi Kurdistan during the mid-1990s,mostly between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Over the course of the conflict,Kurdish factions from Iran and Turkey,as well as Iranian,Iraqi and Turkish forces,were drawn into the fighting,with additional involvement from American forces. Between 35,000 and 40,000 fighters and civilians were killed.
Kosrat Rasul Ali is a Kurdish politician and the leader of the Supreme Political Council of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),veteran Peshmerga military leader,former Prime Minister,and former Vice President of the Kurdistan Region.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party,usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK,is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. The party states that it combines "democratic values and social justice to form a system whereby everyone in Kurdistan can live on an equal basis with great emphasis given to rights of individuals and freedom of expression."
Nawshirwan Mustafa was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the General Coordinator of the Movement for Change and the leader of the opposition in the Kurdistan Region from 1 April 2009 to his death on 19 May 2017.
Hikmat Muhammad Karim,known as Mala Bakhtiyar or Mala Bakhtiar,is a political leader and a Senior Iraqi Kurdish politician. He is a commander and General of the Kurdish PUK Peshmerga forces and is considered one of the most powerful people in Iraq. Mala Bakhtiar is the former chief of the Executive Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. He is now the Joint leader of the Supreme political council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),alongside Kosrat Rasul Ali. Mala Bakhtiar was awarded a medal for being the best national and intellectual figure of the middle east by the International Union of Economists and Managers in the European Union and was recognized as an international democratic figure in 2014. His power is on the rise after the PUK held its 4th congress on the 19th of December 2019,during which he was elected into the Supreme Political Council of the PUK. In November 2021,it was reported that he was being treated after being poisoned. On the 13th of November 2021,after receiving treatment in Berlin,Germany,he returned to Sulaimaniyah,Kurdistan,where he received a Hero’s welcome.
Ali Askari (1936–1978) was a Kurdish politician,military leader,and revolutionary. He was a prominent leader in Iraqi Kurdistan and his political party was the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
An independence referendum for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was held on 25 September 2017,with preliminary results showing approximately 92.73 percent of votes cast in favour of independence. Despite reporting that the independence referendum would be non-binding,the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) characterised it as binding,although they claimed that an affirmative result would trigger the start of state building and negotiations with Iraq rather than an immediate declaration of independence of Kurdistan. The referendum's legality was rejected by the federal government of Iraq.
The 2005 Erbil bombing was a suicide attack on the offices of Kurdish political parties in Erbil,Kurdistan Region,on May 4,2005. The attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as people lined up outside a police recruiting center in Erbil. Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility. This attack is an example of religious terrorism,groups who commit terrorist acts because of religion believe that their deity or deities are on their side and that their violence is divinely inspired and approved. This attack is also an example of Strategic terrorism. Which is a form of terrorism where the terrorist plans to inflict mass casualties. The goals of Strategic terrorism are normally not local objectives but global objectives or regional objectives. Ansar al-Sunna's goal is to transform the country of Iraq into an Islamic state so their goals are regional.
Kurdistan Freedom Party is a Kurdish nationalist and separatist militant group of Kurds in Iran,based in northern Iraq.
Parliamentary elections took place in Kurdistan Region on 30 September 2018 to elect Parliament. The election came a year after a failed bid for independence and left the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) with 45 seats,that positioning it to lead the next regional government. Announcement of the results was delayed for three weeks. The KDP's historic rival and junior coalition partner in government,the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK),was in second place with 21 seats. The results suggest that Masoud Barzani’s KDP will take a dominant position in Kurdish politics.
Sirwan Saber Barzani is an Iraqi Kurdish businessman and military commander. He is a member of the Kurdish Barzani family. He is the older brother of Saywan Barzani,an Kurdish diplomat,and Hasan Barzani who died in an air accident in October 2017.
Bafel Jalal Talabani,known as Bafel Talabani,is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and current leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He is the older son of former PUK leader Jalal Talabani.
Shifa Zikri Ibrahim,also known by her pseudonym Shifa Zirki Gardi,an Iraqi-Kurdish television presenter and journalist who was working for Rudaw Media Network in western Mosul,Iraq,was killed by a roadside bomb while reporting during the Iraq War.
Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) is a government agency and the primary investigative arm belonging to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraqi Kurdistan,headquartered in Sulaymaniyah and Erbil. The organization is now a governmental agency that was established by PUK's intelligence service under the name CTG was first established in 2002 by the Patriotic Union with support from the United States and the CIA as a response to the growing influence and threat from Ansar al-Islam in the areas which was the former Islamic Emirate of Byara. The primary function of the agency is investigation of crimes relating to both the internal and external security of the Kurdistan region. The agency officially has power to arrest holds jurisdiction over a number of crimes in the region including terrorism.
Jalal Sheikh Naji,known as Sheikh Jalal,is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and current Head of the Parastin and Zanyari / Zanyari Agency,and Member of Leadership Council Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Sheikh jalal was a leading figure in the fight against terror especially in the fight against ISIS.
