On 10 September, AAH secretary-general Qais al-Khazali told Al-Ahad TV (AAH — official) that the Peshmerga obeyed the Kurdistan Region’s political leadership rather than the commander-in-chief. He said AAH would adopt the issue of separating the Region’s political leadership from the Peshmerga and demanded that the commander-in-chief be able to direct the force as part of complete state sovereignty.
- Al-Ahad TVAAH — official10 Sept, 22:25
“We support placing weapons in the hands of the state, but we oppose handing them over.”
نحن مع حصر السلاح بيد الدولة لكننا ضد "تسليمه"
- Al-Ahad TVAAH — official10 Sept, 22:27
“The Peshmerga submits to the orders of the Region’s political leadership and has no relationship at all with the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”
البيشمركة تخضع وتطيع أوامر قيادتها السياسية في الاقليم وليس لها علاقة مطلقا مع القائد العام للقوات المسلحة
- Al-Ahad TVAAH — official10 Sept, 22:28
“We will adopt the issue of separating the Region’s political leadership from the Peshmerga forces.”
سنتبنى ملف فك ارتباط القيادة السياسية في الاقليم بقوات البيشمركة
- Al-Ahad TVAAH — official10 Sept, 22:29
“State sovereignty must be complete, including Peshmerga obedience to the commander-in-chief and his authority to move federal units.”
سيادة الدولة يجب أن تكون كاملة وليست منقوصة بطاعة البيشمركة للقائد العام وصلاحيته في تحريك القطعات الاتحادية
The contrast broadens AAH’s weapons-control campaign into a Baghdad–Erbil command dispute and exposes unequal definitions of what state control requires.