Turkiye approves conditional pardon for PKK militants, raising peace hopes

Diyarbakir,UPDATED: Aug 11, 2026 22:16 IST

Turkiye's parliament has approved a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdish militants, raising hopes of peace and economic revival in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast, even as many residents and leaders say the wider Kurdish issue remains unresolved.

The legislation, passed by an overwhelming majority on Monday, is aimed at advancing the peace effort between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which had waged a long insurgency before announcing last year that it would lay down its weapons. The measures will come into effect only after Turkish authorities verify that the group has fully disarmed.

In Diyarbakir, the main city in the region, residents reacted with relief, joy and some uncertainty. Seventy-year-old retiree Ali Akdogan said he hoped the move would bring peace and prosperity to an area that has lagged behind economically. "I was really very happy. I even applauded (the result) in my own home," he said. "The economy will improve, good things will happen, people will start doing business."

Akdogan added: "I believe it will bring peace," noting that since the start of the peace process, there have been no deaths linked to the conflict, which killed thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants over more than four decades.

Hasan Gecti, a 56-year-old shop owner, said the stability and lack of violence would help the region socially and economically, but added that other demands had not been addressed. Kurds have sought wider use of their language in education and public services, along with greater political rights, including an end to the government's practice of removing elected mayors and replacing them with appointed officials. "Has the Kurdish issue been directly solved? That's a bit of a question mark. In my opinion, only the terrorism problem has been solved," Gecti said. "Unfortunately, the Kurdish issue still remains where it is."

The PKK said last year that it would dissolve itself after a call from its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The group later held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, where it is based, and said it was withdrawing fighters from key locations in Turkiye to Iraq. The PKK launched its insurgency in the 1980s with the aim of creating a Kurdish state in the southeast of the country. Over time, that shifted to demands for autonomy and rights for Kurds within Turkiye. Kurds are estimated to make up about 15 to 20 per cent of Turkiye's population.

Under the new law, some prison sentences for convicted PKK members will be suspended, while ongoing investigations and trials against others will be postponed for five or 10 years, depending on the seriousness of the alleged offences. If no terror-related crime is committed during that period, the cases will be dropped. Turkish media reports said thousands of PKK members, including those in exile in Europe and those based in Iraq and Syria, are likely to benefit. Militants convicted of intentional killings and those sentenced to life terms before 2005 are excluded, including Ocalan and other senior PKK figures.

Mehmet Kaya, head of the Diyarbakir Chamber of Trade and Industry, welcomed the law's passage with broad support. "It signals that violence is ending and the doors of politics are opening," he said. But he said the legislation alone would not resolve the Kurdish issue. "If the steps taken from now bring sustainable democratisation, social policies, and economic policies develop - which is the expectation - then the region will go through an important phase," Kaya said.

In a statement carried by the PKK-linked ANF news outlet, the group described the Turkish legislation as a "beginning" to resolving outstanding issues, but said it "has serious shortcomings and deficiencies". It called for Ocalan's release, democratic reforms and Kurdish rights.

The new law has been welcomed by many in Turkiye's southeast as a step towards peace and normal life, but residents and Kurdish voices say wider political and democratic reforms will be needed alongside disarmament for the larger Kurdish issue to be addressed.

With PTI Inputs

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