ISIS

Iraq

Syria

University of Pune

Barzan Mustafa

Kingdom

Netherlands

Prime Minister

Iraqi government

Salar Fadhil

president

Kurdish regional government

Iraqi Parliament

Ihsan Hamza

Kirkuk

Dutch parliament

Japan

As the war between Iraqi forces and the jihadist militant group Islamic State ofandand the Levant (ISIS) rages on, demands for an independent Kurdistan are getting louder. Kurds across the world are carrying out rallies asking for an independent nation.(UoP) saw a similar rally on Saturday, where a group of Kurdish students voiced their demand for an independent homeland. Talking to Mirror, law studentsaid, “We have organised this rally thousands of miles away from home in order to show our support and commitment to the cause of an independent Kurdistan.Kurdish nationals are also conducting rallies in other countries such as Malaysia, United, Norway, theand other parts of Europe to raise awareness about our cause and garner support for the same.”Responding to rumours that Kurdish population is supporting the ISIS againstNouri al-Maliki’s government in Iraq, he said, “These are false statements being issued by theKurdish people are helping the homeless and poor Iraqis, who have borne the brunt of this ongoing turmoil in Iraq. these people have fled to the Kurdish cities in terror as ISIS has proceeded to capture their towns and cities.”, another Kurd who is studying MSc in computer science from UoP, added, “Time is ripe for Kurdistan to be independent of Iraq.On Saturday, Kurds will conduct a mass rally at Erbil (the capital of Kurdistan region in Iraq), and meetMassoud Barzani with a request to declare Kurdistan an independent territory.”Massoud Barzani, president of the, has already asked theto constitute an electoral committee, which will do the groundwork on conducting a poll for an independent Kurdistan., another UoP student hailing from, a city in northern Iraq, proclaimed his support for an independent Kurdistan in no uncertain terms. “Just a week ago, a group of Kurdish students in the Netherlands had conducted a rally on the issue and met with representatives from the, requesting them to support the Kurdish cause,” he said.The participants of the rally maintained that nations like Israel, Argentina andalready recognise Kurdistan as an independent country and hoped that Indian would also extend its support for the same.