“This measure will inevitably harm citizens in the Region and create an economic crisis. It violates Federal Court rulings and the constitution, which guarantees the rights of all citizens in all provinces,” the presidency said, as cited by the legislature’s second deputy speaker Shakhawan Abdullah.
It called on Baghdad to reverse the decision, “especially as we are on the eve of Eid al-Adha.”
“The people’s livelihood and entitlements must not be tied to political and technical issues. Negotiations and understandings are the best way to resolve problems and issues between Baghdad and Erbil,” the statement said.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad escalated last week after the Iraqi finance ministry said it would halt all budget transfers to the KRG, including salaries for over one million public sector employees for the remainder of the year.
Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami, moreover, accused Erbil of exceeding its 2025 budget share by over $10 billion and cited its failure to hand over revenues, while KRG Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab rejected the figures as “made up” and criticized Baghdad’s justification as “laughable.”
The federal finance ministry’s decision has been widely condemned by Kurdish authorities. On Wednesday, the KRG’s Council of Ministers accused Baghdad of imposing a siege on the Region.
“The decision to halt the Kurdistan Region’s salaries is unconstitutional and illegal, and constitutes collective punishment of all the Kurdistan Region’s citizens,” the KRG said in a statement.
The budget halt follows two controversial energy agreements, condemned as “unconstitutional” by Baghdad, signed in May between the Kurdistan Region and US firms worth around $110 million to develop regional gas fields during Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Washington.
On Sunday, Iraq's Federal Supreme Court announced that it registered a lawsuit filed by public servants in the Kurdistan Region seeking an injunction to ensure continued salary payments. However, a senior Iraqi government source told Rudaw on Monday that a ruling is unlikely soon, as some court members are currently on pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
