Reuters, Baghdad :
Iraq’s Foreign Minsiter Hoshiyar Zebari said on Friday that the Kurdish political bloc has ended all participation in the national government in protest over Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s accusation that Kurds are hosting terrorists in their capital Arbil.
“We have suspended our government business,” said Zebari.
The Kurds said on Thursday they were cancelling their participation in cabinet meetings. However, Zebari told Reuters that Kurdish ministers were now suspending their day-to-day running of his ministry, the trade ministry, the ministry of migration, the
health ministry and the deputy premiership.
Zebari said the Kurds will continue to attend parliament, which is trying to form a new government in the face of a Sunni insurgency that has seized large sections of northern and western Iraq. Maliki, who is seeking a third term in office amid widespread resistance, said on Wednesday that the Kurds were hosting the Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, in Arbil.
Iraq’s Foreign Minsiter Hoshiyar Zebari said on Friday that the Kurdish political bloc has ended all participation in the national government in protest over Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s accusation that Kurds are hosting terrorists in their capital Arbil.
“We have suspended our government business,” said Zebari.
The Kurds said on Thursday they were cancelling their participation in cabinet meetings. However, Zebari told Reuters that Kurdish ministers were now suspending their day-to-day running of his ministry, the trade ministry, the ministry of migration, the
health ministry and the deputy premiership.
Zebari said the Kurds will continue to attend parliament, which is trying to form a new government in the face of a Sunni insurgency that has seized large sections of northern and western Iraq. Maliki, who is seeking a third term in office amid widespread resistance, said on Wednesday that the Kurds were hosting the Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, in Arbil.
