Kurdistan Free Life Party

The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) is a leftist Kurdish-nationalist party based in Iran. PJAK is an affiliate of the PKK, PYD, and PCDK through the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK). PJAK’s founder, Osman Ocalan, is the brother of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The group’s stated goals are to unify Kurdish/Iranian opposition groups, to transform the Islamic regime in Iran, and to develop a democratic confederal government for Kurds and Iranians. Since its establishment in 2004, PJAK has carried out an insurgency against Iran through its armed wing, the YRK (formerly known as the HRK) and its women’s armed wing, the HRJ. In 2008, PJAK had 2,000-3,000 troops at bases in the Qandil mountains along the Iran-Iraq border. PJAK engages in cross-border fighting with Iranian government forces and is also known to target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in Iran. Although Turkey and the U.S. Treasury Department (but not the U.S. State Department) designate PJAK as a terrorist organization, there are allegations of cooperation between PJAK, the U.S., and Turkey. Abdul Rahman Haji Ahmadi, the current leader of PJAK, resides in exile in Germany.