SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government’s Peshmerga ministry is waiting for procedures between the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Finance to finish in order for Peshmerga salaries to be sent by Baghdad.
“Baghdad has promised to send the money,” Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Peshmerga Jabar Yawar told Rudaw.
In the past, the Kurdistan Region often complained to the consecutive governments in Baghdad that failure to send Peshmerga salaries was a violation of the Iraqi constitution.
But the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi reached an initial agreement for the problem. The deal finally led to the approval of the 2019 budget in which 68 billion dinars has been allocated for monthly Peshmerga salaries.
The Finance Committee in the Iraqi parliament initially asked for 120 billion dinars ($100.6 million) to be allocated for Peshmerga salaries monthly, but Baghdad didn’t approve it, explained member Ahmad Haji Rashid. Instead, Baghdad approved 100 billion dinars.
“Now they have allocated 68 billion dinars ($57 million) monthly in the [budget] law,” Rashid claimed.
Previous Iraqi governments under PMs Nouri al-Maliki and Haider al-Abadi refused to send Peshmerga salaries on the pretext the Peshmerga payroll was unclear and inflated.
“It is the first time Peshmerga salaries are fixed in the Iraqi budget law. And this is a guarantee that these salaries will be sent to the Kurdistan Region monthly,” Rashid said.
Salaries have not been sent yet because of outstanding issues between the Iraqi Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Peshmerga, according to Parliament Finance Committee member Ahmad Safaar.
“There is dialogue and exchange of opinions between both ministries aiming at reaching a better mutual understanding between them. Then the 68 billion dinars will be monthly sent along with employee salaries,” Safaar said.
After the Iraqi budget law for 2019 was approved by the parliament, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance asked the Ministry of Peshmerga to submit a letter detailing Peshmerga salaries.
“We have sent a letter to the Iraqi Ministry of Defense regarding this and we are prepared for any coordination and cooperation in an attempt to give them a clearer idea about Peshmerga forces or anything else they want explained so that they send Peshmerga salaries. But they haven’t asked us for anything yet,” Yawar said.
The Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga are constitutionally enshrined as an element of the Iraqi Security Forces. In reality, the Peshmerga have their own chain of command — separate from the Iraqi forces.
Collaboration between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces reached its precipice during the Mosul offensive against the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2016 and 2017.
However, some Peshmerga clashed with Iraqi paramilitias during the federal takeover of Kirkuk and all disputed areas or Kurdistani areas claimed by Erbil and Baghdad.
Efforts are underway to professionalize Peshmerga forces and command both internally and externally.