Istanbul mayor's arrest throws Turkey's Kurdish peace bid into doubt

People dance during the celebration of the spring festival of Newroz, in Sirnak, southeastern Turkey, March 19, 2025. REUTERS/Daren Butler

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - The detention of Istanbul's popular mayor risks undermining Turkey's move to end the PKK militant group's 40-year-old insurgency - a plan relying heavily on the government's nascent, delicate cooperation with the pro-Kurdish DEM Party.

Many Kurds worry that the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu - President Tayyip Erdogan's chief political rival - could signal an autocratic turn that will close the space for a historic reconciliation.