According to Rodaw TV, the body of former Kirkuk Kurdish governor was transferred from the United States to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, on Friday, November 7, and was welcomed by the President of the region, Nechirvan Barzani, during an official ceremony.

At the ceremony, Barzani paid tribute to the former governor of Kirkuk, stressing that Najmadin Karim lived with pride and dignity and should be remembered with dignity.

“Today, we receive and honor the body of an accomplished personality and a true champion of Kurdistan, Dr. Najmadin Karim. We pay tribute to him with great sorrow, but also with utmost pride. Dr. Najmadin Karim lived with dignity, and every one of us can remember him as a man of great dignity. Today, we proudly receive and honor his body,” Barzani said during the ceremony

He added that Karim was a brave and dauntless man. “A bravery he had inherited from his Kirkuki and Garmiyani origin. And it was his courage that eventually led him to take historic positions throughout his life and career.”

Barzani further added that the Karim did great things in his life, including raising the flag of the Kurdistan Region in Kirkuk.

He also mentioned that he was a trusted person of Jalal Talabani, the late founder of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and former president of Iraq, and because of his love and interest in Kirkuk, he made many efforts for the development of Kirkuk and the prosperity in Kirkuk during his governorship.

It should be noted that the office of Najmadin Karim announced on Saturday, November 2, that he had died at the age of 71 due to a stroke in the United States.

The body of Najmadin Karim was buried temporarily in the Pirmam area of ​​Erbil, according to his will with the hope that Kirkuk will be under the control of the Kurds again in the future and his body will be transferred to Kirkuk and buried in this city.

Najmadin Karim, a former member of the political bureau of the PUK, was ousted by the Iraqi parliament as the governor of Kirkuk in 2017 on charges of raising the flag of the Kurdistan Region over government buildings in Kirkuk and holding a referendum on Kurdish independence in the province and Rakan Saeed, a Sunni Arab from Kirkuk, was appointed as the acting governor of Kirkuk.

He left the party after the events and the opposition of the PUK to his candidacy for the presidency of Iraq.

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