Pakistan welcomes Kurdish PKK鈥檚 disbandment, ending 40-year Turkiye insurgency

Arab News Pakistan
A man waves a flag depicting Abdullah Ocalan, Turkish-jailed founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) next to a bonfire during a gathering for Nowruz (aka Noruz or Newroz) celebrations marking the New Year of the Persian calendar and the first day of spring in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey, on March 21, 2025. (AFP/ file)
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  • Since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984, the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, exacted huge economic losses聽
  • PKK鈥檚 decision will give President Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to boost development in Turkiye鈥檚 mainly Kurdish southeast

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday welcomed the decision by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) group, which has been locked in bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, to disband and end its armed struggle.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984, the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, exerted a huge economic burden and fueled social tensions. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkiye and its Western allies.

Taking to X, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the PKK鈥檚 dissolution a 鈥渉istoric development.鈥�

鈥淧akistan welcomes the announcement of PKK鈥檚 dissolution, a significant step toward lasting peace and a terror-free Turkiye,鈥� he wrote.

The Firat news agency, which is close to the group, reported on Monday that the PKK 12th Congress decided to 鈥渄issolve the PKK鈥檚 organizational structure and end the armed struggle.鈥�

The PKK held the congress in response to a February call to disband from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island south of Istanbul since 1999. It said on Monday that he would manage the process.

On Mar. 1, the PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire, but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations.

鈥淭he PKK has completed its historic mission,鈥� the PKK statement said. 鈥淭he PKK struggle has broken the policy of denial and annihilation of our people and brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics.鈥�

The PKK鈥檚 decision will give President Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to boost development in Turkiye鈥檚 mainly Kurdish southeast, where the insurgency has impaired the regional economy for decades.

A deputy leader of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the third largest in Turkiye鈥檚 parliament and which played a key role in facilitating Ocalan鈥檚 peace call, told Reuters the PKK decision was significant not just for Kurdish people but for the Middle East as a whole.

鈥淚t will also necessitate a major shift in the official state mentality of Turkiye,鈥� DEM鈥檚 Tayip Temel said.

- With inputs from Reuters

Topics: Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)