Iraq's Supreme Court has ordered the planned Kurdish independence referendum to be suspended as Iraqi prime minister on Monday formally demanded a halt, stating seccession would be "unconstitutional".
"The supreme court has issued the order to suspend organising the referendum set for September 25 ... until it examines the complaints it has received over this plebiscite being unconstitutional," the Court said in a statement, Al Jazeera reported.
Warning the vote on September 25 would lead to "dangerous outcomes", Iraq's prime minister, Haider al-Abadi on Monday said “the breakaway of any region or province from Iraq as unconstitutional”.
“Holding (the referendum) will lead to dangerous outcomes, resulting in the division of Iraq and threatening civil peace," he was quoted by Reuters as saying in a statement.
The US, UK and the UN Secretary General have recently reiterated their calls for Kurds to abandon their plans to hold the referendum.
Kurdish leaders have remains defiant however.