PUK is being pressured by local and international parties, MP says

Shafaq News / The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) parliamentary bloc, Herim Kamal Aghda, said on Tuesday that his party is being pressured by local and international parties.

In an interview with "The Voice of America", Agha said that the PUK and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) have not set a date to meet yet, noting that other parties that have a series of demands and interests are pressuring the two main Kurdish parties to settle on a single Presidential candidate.

These pressures are made by "friends" of the PUK, Agha said, including representatives of the United Nations, the U.S., and Iran, as well as the Shiite and Sunni components.

"This is a critical situation, and the PUK and the KDP must get through it somehow, to achieve the Kuds' interest, requests and rights", he added.

Last February, the Kurdistan Democratic Party nominated Kurdistan's Interior Minister, Rebar Ahmed, as its candidate for the Iraqi presidency.