Turkish parliament to vote on landmark PKK peace report

WorldPolitics
18 Feb 2026 • 7:19 PM MYT
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A Turkish parliamentary commission will vote on a report proposing legal reforms tied to PKK disarmament, advancing a peace process to end a 40-year conflict.

ANKARA: A Turkish parliamentary commission is set to vote on a landmark report advancing a peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Wednesday.

The draft report proposes legal reforms in parallel with the militant group’s disarmament, urging judicial compliance with European and Turkish court rulings.

The PKK, designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and EU, halted attacks last year and pledged to disarm.

READ MORE: Kurdish PKK fighters to destroy weapons in ‘goodwill’ act: commanders

It called on Ankara to take steps allowing its members to participate in politics.

A vote to back the report would shift the peace process to the legislative arena.

President Tayyip Erdogan aims to end violence that has caused deep domestic discord and spread into Iraq and Syria.

The commission was formed in August 2025 to support a new phase in ending the conflict.

The insurgency has killed more than 40,000 people and stymied economic development in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.

The PKK’s 1984 insurgency originally sought an independent Kurdish state.

Its goals shifted in recent years to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy.

The NATO-member Turkish military drove the PKK base deep into mountainous northern Iraq.

The PKK has symbolically burned some weapons and announced a withdrawal of fighters from Turkey.

This is a first step towards their legal reintegration into society, heeding a call from jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

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