Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), issued a stark warning on Thursday, stating that the ongoing suspension of salary payments to employees in the Kurdistan Region is a grave political maneuver equivalent to the Anfal campaigns and chemical attacks of the past.

Speaking during a meeting in Duhok with a large group comprising mothers and families of martyrs, Peshmerga fighters, and resilient women, Barzani framed the salary issue as part of a broader effort to weaken the region and break its will.

According to a statement from his office, Barzani expressed deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the martyrs' families and highlighted the pivotal role of Kurdish women in the long struggle for freedom and dignity.

"Except for God, we bow to no one," Barzani told the audience. "But we bow in reverence to the mothers and families of martyrs." He emphasized that the sacrifices of Kurdish women are "a sacred trust upon all of us."

The KDP leader warned of persistent plots against the Kurdistan Region's existence, suggesting that modern threats are in some ways more perilous than those of the past. "Today’s threats are even more dangerous than before, as the enemies are trying to deprive our youth of hope and their sense of belonging by spreading addiction and despair," he stated. He called on mothers to instill awareness and a sense of responsibility in their children to help confront these challenges.

Barzani directly addressed the protracted salary crisis, which has seen public sector employees in the region face delayed and reduced payments for extended periods. He asserted that the issue has been weaponized.

"The salaries of the people of Kurdistan have turned into a political issue," Barzani said. "Some have used them as a tool of pressure against the region, and certain internal actors have helped enable this — a matter no less dangerous than the Anfal and chemical bombardments."

The Anfal campaigns were a series of genocidal attacks led by the former Iraqi Ba'athist regime in the late 1980s, which included widespread use of chemical weapons, such as in the attack on Halabja, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds.

Concluding his remarks, Barzani reaffirmed the KDP's founding principle of restoring hope to the Kurdish people. He vowed that the party would "continue to shoulder its historic responsibility to defend the rights of the Kurdish people and safeguard their achievements."