TURKEY’S parliament has approved legislation that would give a conditional pardon to thousands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members in a bid to advance the government’s peace initiative with the insurgent group.

The measure would only come into effect after Turkish authorities have verified that the PKK has fully disarmed.

The group announced last year that it was ending its decades-long armed campaign against the Turkish state and would dissolve itself as part of the peace effort. 

This followed a call from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The legislation would suspend some prison sentences for convicted PKK members and postpone ongoing investigations and trials against others for five or 10 years, depending on the severity of the alleged offences. 

If no terror-related crime is committed within the time frame, the cases will be dropped.

The initiative offers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the opportunity to secure the support of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (Dem) to help him remain in office beyond the two-term presidential limit. 

Dem legislator Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit told the parliament: “The people of Turkey, who have paid a heavy price for many years, now have an opportunity to consolidate peace and build democracy.”