At a Glance:

• Gulala (Jalawla) sub-district population has surged to 106,000, surpassing the district capital of Khanaqin (99,000) as imported demographics rise.
• KRG official Fahmi Burhan warned Channel8 that "soft Arabization" in disputed areas will accelerate sharply over the next five years due to federal inaction.
• Land buyouts of agricultural orchards, utility blackouts (water/power), and military interventions are forcing the depopulation of Kurdish villages.
• Baghdad is heavily criticized for failing to formulate a clear constitutional vision or implement Article 140 to stabilize regional demographics.

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Fahmi Burhan, Head of the General Board for Kurdistani Areas Outside the Region, issued a stark warning regarding systematic "soft Arabization" targeting disputed territories outside KRG administration. Speaking to Channel8, Burhan stated that demographic engineering across historic Kurdish hubs like Khanaqin is set to intensify over the next five years, criticizing the federal government in Baghdad for failing to enact constitutional mechanisms or establish a clear framework for regional stability.

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Key Statements and Focus Area:

• Fahmi Burhan, Head of the KRG Disputed Territories Board:
  "Khanaqin faces ongoing constitutional violations that threaten its core identity. 'Soft Arabization' across these territories is projected to accelerate substantially over the next five years because Baghdad lacks a genuine vision to resolve the crisis."
• Fahmi Burhan (on Security and Coexistence):
  "The current political and military environment in disputed territories actively undermines inter-ethnic coexistence through unwarranted military intervention and demographic restructuring."

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Demographic Disparities and Displacement Drivers

Disputed Sector / Metric	Current Status / Data Point	Primary Demographic Driver
Gulala (Jalawla) Sub-District	106,000 Residents	Influx of non-local Arab populations
Khanaqin District Center	99,000 Residents	Population outflow due to administrative detachment
Kurdish Rural Villages	Accelerating depopulation	Severe water/power cuts & agricultural buyouts
Federal Policy Stance	Inaction on Article 140	Administrative reclassification & military oversight

Administrative Restructuring and Village Abandonment

Research projections and field statistics reveal a rapid transformation of the demographic balance in the Diyala governorate's disputed zones. The population of Gulala sub-district has reached 106,000, overtaking the historical district center of Khanaqin. Kurdish officials attribute this shift to deliberate policies, including the buyout of traditional Kurdish agricultural orchards, deliberate utility cuts leaving rural villages without basic electricity or clean water, and heavy-handed interventions by Iraqi military units that compress local Kurdish civil space.

Lack of Federal Roadmap and Constitutional Violations

Burhan heavily criticized the federal administration in Baghdad for neglecting its obligations under Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. Rather than normalizing administrative boundaries and restoring original demographics, local KRG officials charge that unilateral administrative detachments and federal passivity are actively dismantling the historic fabric of disputed communities, creating a volatile environment for future census and electoral calculations.

FYI

By substituting traditional, heavy-handed demographic enforcement with "soft Arabization" leveraging economic strain, administrative reclassification, and infrastructure neglect, Baghdad is altering the ground reality of disputed territories without triggering immediate international backlash. Without a coordinated KRG political response and federal commitment to Article 140, Khanaqin and surrounding districts face irreversible demographic marginalization.

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