ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—A prominent leader of the Shiite paramilitary force of Hashd al-Shaabi denies his forces are in contact with or supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Shingal region, saying Iraq’s constitution does not allow the presence of any foreign armed group on its soil.





“We are not in contact with the PKK, we don’t need them and their presence is provoking Turkish forces,” Hashd al-Shaabi leader Karim Nuri told Rudaw TV Friday evening.





Nuri argued that the presence of foreign armed groups on Iraqi territory would invite neighboring countries to meddle in its affairs.





“The Iraqi constitution does not allow the use of any foreign force be it the PKK or others,” he said. “We will not allow any Iranian or Turkish opposition forces to be in Iraq because that will legitimize Turkey or Iran’s meddling in the domestic affairs of Iraq.”





The issue of the presence of PKK fighters in the Shingal region and their training of local fighters under the name of YBS has been a hot topic for Erbil, Ankara and the PKK in recent months.





Some reports suggest that the Iraqi government is funding the PKK and its recruits in Shingal through the same budget as its own Hashd al-Shaabi, while Erbil has urged them to leave the area voluntarily lest it should lead to armed conflict.





Nuri however, denied funding the PKK in Shingal, adding that it was the responsibility of the Kurdish authorities to curb the group’s presence and activities.





“It is not true,” he said of reports of Baghdad providing the funds for the group. “If there is the PKK they are then in Kurdistan and it is for our Kurdish brothers to limit its movements.”





PKK leader Murat Karayilan announced on Friday that he was in negotiations with Erbil, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in particular on the issue of his forces in Shingal and that he was going to pull them out peacefully and once the talks had concluded.