Shaswar Abdul Wahid: The Kurdistan Regional Government's Claims About Peshmerga Integration Are Far From Reality

According to KurdPress, Shaswar Abdul Wahid, the head of the New Generation Movement, announced in a statement that the Kurdistan Regional Government's claims about the integration of the Peshmerga forces are far from reality and what happened in practice was largely a ceremonial act and a change of names.He said that the forces stationed in the Sulaymaniyah region are still affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and take orders from this party, while the forces in Erbil and Dohuk are still affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party and take their orders from this party.

Regarding the 80th and 70th forces, Shaswar Abdul Wahid said that the name of the 80th forces has been changed to "Region One" and the name of the 70th forces to "Region Two", but the change of name does not mean unification of the forces.

The head of the New Generation Movement emphasized that real unification means the creation of a single national command, a hierarchy of command and national and institutional loyalty, not loyalty to political parties.

He concluded by saying: "What we have in the Kurdistan Region today are party, personal and paramilitary forces, not a unified national force."