IRAQI officials put an arrest warrant for a Kurdish politician who was central to last year’s failed independence bid on hold today after an appeal.

Authorities ordered the arrest of exiled Kirkuk Provincial Council leader Rebwar Talabani yesterday, accusing him of receiving a salary while not fulfilling the duties of his post.

It is the second arrest warrant to be issued against Mr Talabani after local Turkmen and Arabs tried to sue him last year for raising the Kurdish flag in the disputed province. This case was dismissed by an Iraqi Federal Court in February.

Mr Talabani is accused of being the mastermind behind the Kurdish independence referendum which was held in September last year. 

The vote was deemed illegal by Baghdad which was angered over the inclusion of Kirkuk, which sits outside the administration of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), in the contentious poll.

More than 92 per cent voted in favour of independence in the non-binding referendum, which the KRG claimed would be the basis for negotiations with Iraq over a future Kurdish state.

However, then Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani was warned over the timing of the poll, with Iraq battling to secure the final defeat of Isis who had occupied large parts of the country.

The move has largely been seen as a disastrous mistake with Iraqi government troops moving in to retake control of the city of Kirkuk, known as the “Kurdish Jerusalem,” in October 2106.

Mr Talabani fled the city for safety reasons after Baghdad resumed control, claiming that he had received death threats following the referendum.

Officials accused him of abandoning his post, but he insisted he is “working very well” from Erbil and has filed a claim against the Integrity Commission over his treatment.

Mr Talabani filed an appeal to Baghdad judicial authorities and confirmed “the arrest warrant is now on hold.”

He accused the Iraqi Turkmen Front, which claims Kirkuk belongs to the Turkmen who make up between 13-17 per cent of the population, of being behind the move.

Tensions have escalated over control of the disputed province with a curfew imposed on May 12 after fighting broke out.

Negotiations are continuing on the forming of a national government after the Sairoun Coalition — an alliance between Islamic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Iraqi Communist Party — topped the polls in last month’s elections.