ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers met on Wednesday to discuss the next steps following the completion of the landmark unification process of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, asserting that their salaries and entitlements must be equalized with their Iraqi counterparts and calling for the Peshmerga ministry to be included in the federal budget. 

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and other top leaders on Monday attended a formal ceremony marking the unification of Peshmerga forces under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, marking the culmination of a years-long process that was supported by international partners. 

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Barzani, addressed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) “efforts to equalize the salaries, ranks, allowances, and financial entitlements of the Peshmerga with their counterparts in federal Iraqi defense institutions, and to include the Peshmerga ministry’s financial requirements within the expenditures of the federal budget,” the KRG said in a statement. 

The council argued that the Kurdistan Region contributes to the federal budget by providing to Iraqi government expenditures, including those of the defense ministry, and said that Baghdad must in turn account for the costs of the Peshmerga ministry. 

“The Peshmerga unification process has taken a significant step forward. All Peshmerga personnel have been biometrically registered, their salary banking process has been completed, and their names and information have been verified by relevant federal government institutions,” it said. 

Speaking at the unification ceremony, Prime Minister Barzani labeled the unification as a “historic” achievement, emphasizing that the next stage should focus on strengthening the Kurdish force’s military capabilities. 

The 2005 Iraqi constitution allows federal regions in the country, such as the Kurdistan Region, to establish and organize internal security forces “such as police, security forces, and guards of the region,” and the Peshmerga fall under the last category.

The historic unification process, which was overseen by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) for years and was completed on September 10, sought to incorporate the Peshmerga’s Unit 80 forces, affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Unit 70 forces, affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), into the Peshmerga ministry.

The two formations make up the majority of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, numbering over 150,000 troops. 

The Unit 80 forces now form Area Command One of the Peshmerga and is based in Erbil, while Unit 70 forms Area Command Two and is headquartered in Sulaimani.