ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament issued a joint statement on Thursday, describing the Iraqi government’s decision to suspend funding as a “political attack,” and demanding a permanent solution to the salary issues.

In a letter addressed to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday, Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami said that, from 2023 until April 2025, the Kurdistan Region has handed over only 598.5 billion dinars out of its total oil and non-oil combined revenues of 19.9 trillion dinars.

Sami claimed that the Kurdistan Region has already exceeded its 12.67 percent of the annual budget, totaling 13.5 trillion dinars, adding that the finance ministry “is unable to continue funding the Region.”

The Kurdish blocs said they were “shocked and saddened” by the finance ministry’s decision.

“This decision constitutes a political attack and violates the Iraqi constitution, which affirms the guarantee of the dignity of citizens regardless of the circumstances,” the statement read.

The blocs called on Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to “urgently intervene” to release the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, and “to not link citizens' rights to any political or technical disputes.”

“Salaries are not a favor, but rather a constitutional and humanitarian entitlement guaranteed by the constitution and laws. Delaying or withholding them constitutes a collective punishment that only the employee bears.”

Years of conflict and unresolved issues between Erbil and Baghdad, and economic sanctions and pressure on Erbil by federal authorities, have pushed employees in the Region to live from paycheck to paycheck.

The blocs demanded “a radical and permanent solution” to the salary issues, adding that their position will depend on Sudani’s response, also calling on Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid - a Kurd- and Kurdish ministers in the Iraqi government to make their positions clear on the matter.

The fair distribution of the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget has long been a point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad.

In early February, KRG’s Finance Minister Awat Sheikh Janab announced that they had reached an agreement with the Iraqi federal government to finance the salaries of the Region's civil servants for the entirety of 2025 "without any issues.”