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

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 T he 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: