Mala Bakhtiyar

Mala Bakhtiyar
حیکمەت محەممەد کەریم (مەلا بەختیار)
Born
Hikmat Muhammad Karim

(1954-08-20) August 20, 1954 (age 72)
Khanaqin
Other nameMala Bakhtiyar
CitizenshipIraq
Occupationspolitician
Writer
Years active1970–Present
TitlePolitician
Political party
 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

Hikmat Muhammad Karim (born 20 August 1954, Khanaqin), known as Mala Bakhtiyar or Mala Bakhtiar (Kurdish: مه‌لا به‌ختیار, Mala Baxtiyar), is a prominent political leader and senior Iraqi Kurdish politician. He is a commander and general of the Kurdish PUK Peshmerga forces and is considered one of the most powerful people in Iraq. Mala Bakhtiar previously served as the chief of the Executive Bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Currently, he is the joint leader of the Supreme Political Council of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), alongside Kosrat Rasul Ali.

In 1986, Bakhtiyar left the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to establish his own party, called Alayî Şoriş (Banner of Revolution). However, in 1990, the party merged with the Kurdistan Toilers' Party. Following the 1992 Kurdistan Region parliamentary election, Mala Bakhtiyar and most of the former Alayî Şorîş leadership left the party and rejoined the PUK. Upon his return, he became a member of the party's leadership council.

Mala Bakhtiar was awarded a medal for being the best national and intellectual figure of the middle east by the International Union of Economists and Managers in the European Union and was recognized as an international democratic figure in 2014. His power was on the rise after the PUK held its 4th congress on 19 December 2019, during which he was elected into the Supreme Political Council of the PUK.

2021 poisoning incident

In late 2021, Mala Bakhtiyar, was flown to Berlin, Germany, for medical treatment. Medical tests conducted at the Al Khalidi Medical Center in Jordan and the Vivantes Hospital Group in Germany confirmed that Bakhtiyar had been poisoned with mercury.

During a press conference following his return to Sulaymaniyah in November 2021, Bakhtiyar stated that the poisoning had occurred earlier in July 2021. The incident took place amidst an intense internal power struggle within the PUK leadership between Bafel Talabani and Lahur Talabany, during which Bakhtiyar had maintained a neutral stance. The poisoning plot also targeted other regional officials, including Hassan Nuri, the former head of the Sulaymaniyah Asayish security forces, whose diagnosis was also confirmed during medical treatment in Germany. Concurrently, Bafel Talabani claimed in September 2021 that he had also been targeted by an internal house poisoning attempt. Following the revelations, the Iraqi legal system opened an investigation into the assassination attempts, with perpetrators potentially facing the death penalty under regional laws.

Publications

References

  1. ↑ "Mala Bakhtiar Official Website - Biography". 2020-08-23. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  2. ↑ "Mela Baxtiyar: Ebadî got referandum mafê Kurdan e!". Rûdaw. 28 August 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. ↑ "مه‌لا به‌ختیار: ته‌نیا له‌ كه‌رتی كاره‌بادا له‌ عێراق 100 ملیار دۆلار دزراوه‌". Dwarozh (in Kurdish). Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. ↑ Editorial Staff (2015-11-09). "The 10 Most Powerful People in Iraqi Kurdistan". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  5. ↑ Editorial Staff (2015-11-09). "The 10 Most Powerful People in Iraqi Kurdistan". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  6. ↑ "Iraq's Kurds consider delay on referendum for deal from Baghdad". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  7. ↑ "Profile of Hikmat Muhammad Karim, known as Mala Bakhtiyar". Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. 3 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-15.
  8. ↑ Ebdulkerîm, Selam (14 December 2023). "چۆنێتی دروستبوون و دامەزراندنی حزبی زەحمەتكیشانی كوردستان". Diplomatic Magazine. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ↑ Amnesty International. "Human Rights Abuses in Iraqi Kurdistan Since 1991". Refworld. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  10. ↑ "International Union of Economists and Managers in EU awards a Certificate of Commendation to Mala Bakhtyar‌". www.pukmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-23. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  11. ↑ "Council members to be elected as PUK congress enters its second day". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  12. ↑ "Senior PUK official allegedly poisoned". Rudaw. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Another leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was poisoned". Shafaq News. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
  14. ↑ "Iraq investigating suspicious poisoning of politicians". The New Arab. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2026.

References