| Kurdistan Freedom Party | |
|---|---|
| پارتی ئازادیی کوردستان | |
.svg) | |
| Founding leader | Said Yazdanpanah |
| President & General Commander | Hussein Yazdanpanah |
| Spokesperson | Ardalan Khosrawi |
| Dates of operation | Since 1991; 34 years ago (1991) |
| Headquarters | Erbil,Kurdistan Region,Iraq |
| Active regions | Iraqi Kurdistan Iranian Kurdistan Syrian Kurdistan (formerly) |
| Ideology | Kurdish nationalism |
| Slogan | “Yan Kurdistan, yan neman” ("Either Kurdistan or extinction") |
| Size | 1,000 (claimed) |
| Allies |  Peshmerga
 United States (against ISIS)[1] Israel (self-declared)[2] |
| Opponents |  Iraq Iran Islamic State |
| Battles and wars | |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | Iran[3] |
| Colors | Orange |
| Website | pazadik |
Preceded by Revolutionaries' Union of Kurdistan | |
Kurdistan Freedom Party (Kurdish:پارتی ئازادیی کوردستان,romanized: Partî Azadîyê Kurdistan, abbreviated asPAK) is aKurdish nationalist andseparatist militant group ofKurds in Iran, based in theKurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG).
The group has declared the creation of an independentKurdish country or a 'Republic of Kurdistan' as its main aim.[3][4][5]
The group was founded by Said Yazdanpanah, a former member of thePeople's Fedai Guerrillas, inRanya, in May 1991, as the Revolutionaries' Union of Kurdistan.[4] Said Yazdanpanah was killed in September 1991, and his brotherHussein Yazdanpanah ('Mam Hussein') took over the organization afterwards.[4]
In a congress held between 10 and 12 October 2006 inErbil, the group adopted its current name and choose Ali Qazi, the son ofQazi Mohammad, as its leader. Hussein Yazdanpanah became Vice President.[4] A few months later, the group experienced a split when some members led by Simko Yazdanpanah, Hussein's brother, left the party on 7 July 2007. They declared on 12 August that they have reorganized the original Revolutionaries' Union of Kurdistan Party, and named Amine Khanim, mother of the Yazdanpanah brothers, as their leader.[4] PAK has remained under the leadership of Hussein Yazdanpanah, who continues to serve as its leader to this day.
As of 2017, the organization maintains close ties to theDemocratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) and is on friendly terms with bothKurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) andPatriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).[3]
In 2023 as part of a security agreement between the Iraqi and Iranian governments, PAK,PJAK,KDPI and other Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups were ordered to disarm themselves and relocate their bases away from the border with Iran.[6] PAK has denied that it or any other Iranian-Kurdish parties have laid down their arms or agreed to relocate. However, according to party officials, PAK respects the sovereignty of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and, as a result, refrains from launching attacks on Iran from KRG territory.[7]
In June 2025, following theIsraeli strikes on Iran, leader Hussein Yazdanpanah called on the Kurdish youth inEastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan) to attack "Iranian-Regime targets" and to avenge “Kurdistan's martyrs” in particular thedeath of Jina Amini.[8]
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The party does not have a clear separation of military and political structure.[5] The military wing of PAK operates under the names Kurdistan Freedom Eagles for East Kurdistan (HKR-R), PAK Eagles and the National Army of Kurdistan (SMK). Colloquially they're known as PAKPeshmerga.[9][10]
The PAK Peshmerga are a battle-hardened force, due to their involvement in theWar against the Islamic State (ISIS), in which they extensively cooperated with other Kurdish factions.[3] They were the first Iranian-Kurdish party to offer support to theKRG Peshmerga.[11] InIraqi Kurdistan they've fought against ISIS inKirkuk, where they played a particularly crucial role,Hawija,Bashiqa,Shingal and other areas.[11][12][13] Some fighters may have also been present on theMosul front.[3] It is believed that some members have travelled toSyria todefend Kobanî back in 2014.[14][15]
In April 2016, PAK attacked Iranian government security forces inSanandaj during the annualIslamic Republic of Iran Army Day parade, ending its ceasefire and resuming the armed struggle.[16] Further activities against the IRGC includedhit-and-run attacks in the towns ofSardasht,Oshnavieh,Baneh and Sanandaj, in which they inflicated low casualty figures on the Iranian side.[3][17]
Following theBattle of Kirkuk in 2017 and the subsequentIraqi attacks near Pirdê (Altun Kupri), PAK forces, together withKDP Peshmerga, teamed up to repel the assault.[15] General Yazdanpanah himself was frequently spotted on the frontlines, while leading his troops into battle.[18][19] One PAK officer explained toThe New Arab that, "We are all Kurdish, from one family of Kurdistan," and therefore help was offered.[20]
In 2019, PAK claimed to have arrested aspy of Iran'sBasij units nearPirdê,Kurdistan Region. According to PAK the spy aimed to "cause anxiety,psychological conflicts among PAK Peshmerga, and to weaken their interest in the party. By the end of the mission, he would assassinate important commanders of PAK".[21]
In 2022, PAK,KDPI,PJAK andKomala positions in theKurdistan Region, close to the border withIran, were struck by around 70 Iranianballistic missiles (Fateh-110 claimed by PAK), as well as various rockets andShahedkamikaze drones. Altogether the attack claimed the lives of 14 fighters and injured another 58.[22] PAK claimed that they suffered "several" casualties, without citing a specific number.[23] The Iranian government justified the attacks, by accusing the party of fuelingIran's nationwide protest movement in 2022.[24]
At the start of the War against the Islamic State, the PAK consisted of a single battalion with 50 soldiers, when they were on the Mosul front.[25]
In September 2018, Ardalan Khosrawi, the military spokesperson for PAK, claimed that the party had '850 battle-hardened fighters' from the War against ISIS and a number of operatives in Iran.[17] A year later in December 2019, Hussein Yazdanpanah said there are 1,000 members in his group.[18]
In 2016,Voice of America wrote that the group has some 600 fighters, one-third of whom are female.[26] A 2017 report published byCombating Terrorism Center estimated that the group has "a few hundred" members,[4] the same figure reported byAP in the previous year.[27]Professor Ofra Bengio, head of theKurdish Studies Program atTel Aviv University, mentioned in a report for theBESA Centerthink tank, that the group had 600 fighters in 2017.[28]
PAK welcomed some foreign fighters fromScandinavia during its campaign against ISIL.[29]
According to a report of theMiddle East Media Research Institute in 2023, PAK is the fastest-growing Kurdish party and has among the most effective and prepared armed forces in the region.[15] TheMahsa Amini protests in 2023 led many Kurdish women in Iranian Kurdistan to join PAK. TheSaudi-basedAl-Arabiya Network reported that 200 women, who previously took party in the protests, were attending training camps of PAK.[30]
As of 2025, the party claims to maintaincells inside Iran, although it has operated primarily in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq in recent years.[31]
PAK members wear uniforms similar to the fighters under the command of theKRGPeshmerga ministry.[27] They differentiate themselves visually from other Kurdish factions by wearing orange scarves and installing their own patches.[32] The fighters use a variety of weapons, including Russian-made equipment.[12] TheAK-47,IED's andRPG's are regularly used by PAK fighters.[33] Journalist Fazel Hawramy wrote in 2017 that PAK uses weapons supplied byCombined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve.[12]
In September 2016, PAK announced that it has received military training in weapons and explosives from theUnited States in their fight against ISIS.[27] Around that same time PAK had also received training from otherWestern advisors, according toItalian ArmyCaptain Giulio Macari, spokesman for theUS-led coalition against ISIS inErbil.[34]
The group espousesKurdish nationalism and is regarded as politicallyleft-leaning on the political spectrum.[3] By using the word 'Kurdistan' in their name, the group rejects the ideologies and strategies of thePKK andHDP, which have shifted toward thedemocratization ofTurkey, and instead grounds its agenda in Kurdishethnic andnational identity — making it not just a pro-Kurdish party, but an explicitly Kurdish one.[35]
In July 2016, PAK declared that international aid will help them cease "Iranian influence in the region". They directly askedSaudi Arabia for funding, according toStratfor analyses, which may have been accepted.[36]
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