‘We are not anyone’s proxy force’: Iranian Kurdish party

Published 28 July 2026 · politics

The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed militant group and political party based in Iran’s Kurdish region (also known as Eastern Kurdistan), says they

The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), an armed militant group and political party based in Iran’s Kurdish region (also known as Eastern Kurdistan), says they are not a proxy of any power but a force for democratic change and freedom in Iran. PJAK, which is aligned with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) of Turkiye, has sought greater autonomy for Eastern Kurdistan in Iran. After the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28, there were speculations that Kurdish groups in Iran would join the war against the Islamic Republic. In an email interview with The Hindu, Rivar Abdanan, a spokesperson of PJAK and a member of the party’s Leadership Council, said PJAK would enter the war only if the “existence of the Kurdish people comes under threat”. He, however, added that the primary cause of the current conflict lies in the Islamic Republic’s “repressive domestic policies and its expansionist policies across the region”. Asked if PJAK would condemn the U.S.-Israel’s war on Iran, Mr. Abdanan said the issue cannot be reduced to “a simple choice between encouraging war or condemning war”. Edited excerpts PJAK and the broader Kurdish coalition have emphasised certain restraint or an independent course during the war, even as clashes continue inside Iran. What factors are guiding PJAK’s current military posture? Whenever the attacks of the Islamic Republic reach a level that threatens the existence of the Kurdish people, we will certainly respond. In the past, whenever the regime attacked the Kurdish people or PJAK forces, we responded within the framework of the internationally recognised principle of legitimate self-defence. PJAK is a political party. We seek to operate within the framework of democratic politics. We are not a traditional armed movement whose activities are defined solely by armed struggle. Our strategy is to build a democratic, self-administered society among the Kurdish people and to work toward the establishment of a democratic republic throughout Iran. The Islamic Republic wants to drag us into a long and exhausting war. Our objective, however, is to preserve the Kurdish people’s social and political potential for democratic struggle so that they can play their role when the right opportunity arises. We are not anyone’s proxy force. We strongly reject the mindset that views the Kurds merely as a military force. The Kurds are a nation struggling for freedom and democracy. As long as the political future of the Kurdish people has not been clearly defined in the plans of the world’s major powers, and until we are certain that the Kurds will not once again become victims and will enjoy a political status worthy of their rights, we will not become part of any international coalition or project.