Turkey's Interior Minister Tells Iran: PJAK Must Join Disarmament Process
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi told Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni in Ankara that the PKK's disbandment process must extend to PJAK, its offshoot in Iran. Momeni called on PJAK to lay down arms.
RastinewsTurkish Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi met his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni in Ankara. The talks covered security cooperation between the two countries, as well as the PKK's dissolution and its Iranian offshoot, PJAK.
"PJAK's inclusion in the process matters"
Discussing Turkey's "Terror-Free Turkey" initiative, Çiftçi said the PKK/KCK had entered a process of disbandment and disarmament, and argued that after the group's branches in Syria and Iraq, it was now PJAK's turn in Iran. He said PJAK joining the process was important for regional security.
Çiftçi warned that members of the group opposed to the process could cross into Iran and step up PJAK's activities there.
"PJAK, the PKK and all its branches must disarm"
Iranian Interior Minister Momeni said security cooperation between Turkey and Iran needed to be strengthened, adding: "The PKK, PJAK and affiliated structures must lay down arms." He stressed that the security of the two countries was interlinked.
PKK announced dissolution at 12th Congress
Following Abdullah Öcalan's call on February 27, 2025, the PKK held its 12th Congress on May 5-7, 2025, and announced on May 12 that it was dissolving its organizational structure. On July 11, 2025, it held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in the countryside near Sulaymaniyah. Ankara had previously raised the demand that PJAK be included in the process.