A delegation from Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) arrived at İmralı Prison on Friday to meet with Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This marks the first such visit since the PKK’s ceremonial disarmament earlier this month.

The delegation, comprising DEM Party officials Pervin Buldan, Mithat Sancar, and Özgür Faik Erol, traveled to the island prison to discuss the ongoing peace process between the PKK and the Turkish government. The DEM Party has been mediating negotiations aimed at ending decades of conflict.

On July 11, the PKK held a disarmament ceremony in Sulaimani province, where 30 members and commanders symbolically burned their weapons. The move followed Öcalan’s call for the group to pursue a political solution rather than armed struggle.

The peace process is set to be overseen by a newly established parliamentary commission. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Monday that negotiations to form the commission were in their final stages, with progress expected soon at the parliamentary level.

According to DEM Party lawmaker Sezai Temelli, the 35-member commission may hold its first meeting in the coming days. Its primary task will be to provide "legal and political guarantees for the disarmament process," Temelli told Rudaw.

Despite the disarmament, some PKK fighters in Duhok province have expressed concerns about potential reprisals if they return to Turkey. Many have reportedly chosen to remain in their mountain strongholds rather than risk reintegration.