Jirga

A jirga is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic groups who are influenced by them in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Historically, a loya jirga or a "great council" has been convened in order to elect a new head of state, approve a new constitution or resolve critical issues. Loya jirgas have reportedly been organized since the rise to power of the Hotak dynasty in the early 18th century. In July 1747, Pashtun chiefs assembled in Kandahar to elect a new king, choosing the 25-year-old Ahmad Shah Durrani, who is credited with founding the modern state of Afghanistan.
From 11 to 14 October 2024, the Pashtun National Jirga was held in Khyber to discuss the critical issues faced by the Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Etymology

The word jirga is cognate to Middle Mongol noun, ǰerge, referring to a large assembly of men forming a very broad circle, initially intended for laying siege around games or animals to be hunted for food or sport. Pashtun elders also typically sit in a circle when debating and hearing a given dispute during a tribal jirga.
In Pashto, a grand jirga is known as loya jirga. A mini-jirga is called jirgagai.

Origin and historicity

The institution, which is centuries old, is a similar idea to the Islamic shura.
It is thought that the ancient Indo-Iranian tribes, also known as Arya or Aryans, practiced a sort of jirga system with two types of councils – ' and '. The ' comprised elders and tribal chiefs. The king also joined sessions of the '. was a sort of rural council. In present-day India, they are still referred to as Samiti and Sabha.
In Afghan society, the jirga is still maintained and favored, mostly by tribal leaders to solve internal or external disputes with other tribes. In some cases it functions like a town hall meeting. When the Afghans took power they tried to legitimize their hold with such a jirga. While in the beginning only Pashtuns were allowed to participate in the jirgas, later other ethnic groups like Tajiks and Hazaras were allowed to participate as well. The member of the jirgas were mostly members of the royal family, religious leaders and tribal leaders of the Afghans. King Amanullah Khan institutionalized the jirga. From Amanullah until the reign of Mohammed Zahir Shah and Mohammed Daoud Khan the jirga was recognized as a common meeting of regional Pashtun leaders. The meetings do not have scheduled occurrences, but rather are called for when issues or disputes arise. There is no time limit for a jirga to conclude, and the meetings often take time because decisions can only be made as a group and arguments can drag out for days. Various issues can be addressed such as major disaster, foreign policy, declaration of war, the legitimacy of leaders, and the introduction of new ideas and laws.

Functioning methodology

The community council meaning is often found in circumstances involving a dispute between two individuals; a jirga may be part of the dispute resolution mechanism in such cases. The disputants would usually begin by finding a mediator, choosing someone such as a senior religious leader, a local notable, or a mediation specialist. In tribal Pashtun society, the maliks serve as de facto arbiters in local conflicts, interlocutors in state policy-making, tax-collectors, heads of village and town councils and delegates to provincial and national jirgas as well as delegates to Parliament. The mediator hears from each of the two sides and then he forms a Jirga of community elders, taking care to include the supporters of both sides. The jirga then considers the case and, after it discusses the matter, it comes to a decision about how to handle it, which the mediator then announces. The jirga's conclusion is binding.

Afghanistan

1709 ''loya jirga''

A loya jirga was gathered by Mirwais Hotak in Shari Safa near Kandahar in 1709.

1747 ''loya jirga''

A jirga at Kandahar was attended by Afghan representatives who appointed Ahmad Shah Durrani as their new leader.

1928 ''loya jirga''

In September 1928, a jirga was called by King Amanullah at Paghman near Kabul, the third loya jirga of his reign to discuss reforms, during which King Amanullah asked Queen Soraya to remove her veil in order to gain support for his modernizing policies. However, this was too much for the delegates, some of whom instigated a revolt. Resistance against Amanullah's reforms eventually led to the Afghan Civil War.

2002 ''loya jirga''

In June–July 2002, Hamid Karzai elected to oversee a loya jirga. This was only possible because in the fall of 2001, Karzai was able to successfully lead one of the largest tribes in southern Afghanistan in a revolt against the rule of the Taliban. The loya jirga was organized by the interim administration of Hamid Karzai, with about 1,600 delegates, some of the delegates were selected during elections which were held in various regions of the country, and other delegates were selected by members of various political, cultural, and religious groups. It was held in a large tent on the grounds of the Kabul Polytechnic on June 11 and it was scheduled to last about a week. It formed a new Transitional Administration that took office shortly thereafter.
More than 1,000 of the participants were elected in a two-stage procedure. Each district elected 20 members, who then elected one person who would represent the entire district in a secret vote. At least one member was allocated to each of the country's 362 districts, with an additional seat being allocated for every 22,000 people. No one was barred from the meeting with the exception of people who were accused of engaging in terrorism, people who were suspected of being involved in the illegal drug trade, people who committed human rights abuses, people who committed war crimes, people who committed pillage, and people who committed theft of public property. Additionally, nomads, refugees, intellectuals, representatives of cultural institutions, representatives of social organizations, and religious scholars were all in attendance. Of the remaining seats, a total of 160 seats were allocated to women.

2003 ''loya jirga''

On 14 December 2003, a 502-delegate loya jirga was convened in Kabul to consider the proposed Afghan Constitution. Originally planned to last ten days, the assembly endorsed the charter by January 4, 2004.

2022 ''loya jirga''

From 29 June to 2 July 2022, the Taliban government hosted the first loya jirga since its takeover at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul. Around 3,500 people attended, including scholars, tribal elders, non-Taliban local leaders, representatives of the Shiite community, and representatives of Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan. No female delegates were present. The jirga produced an 11-point resolution, which reiterated the country's sovereignty, and implored the international community to recognize the Taliban government.

Other historical jirgas

Some other historical jirgas in the history of Afghanistan are:

September 1930 – A jirga of 286 called by Mohammed Nadir Shah to confirm his accession to the throne.
1941 – Called by Mohammed Zahir Shah to approve neutrality in World War II.
July 26, 1949 – Afghanistan-Pakistan relations rapidly deteriorated over a dispute, officially declared that it did not recognize the 1893 Durand Line border any longer between the two countries.
September 1964 – A meeting of 452 called by Mohammed Zahir Shah to approve a new constitution.
July 1974 – A meeting with Pakistan over the Durand Line.
January 1977 – Approved the new constitution of Mohammed Daoud Khan establishing one-party rule in the Republic of Afghanistan.
April 1985 – To ratify the new constitution of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
May 1990 – To ratify a new constitution of the Republic of Afghanistan under Mohammad Najibullah, amendments includes providing for multiple political parties.
September 2001 – Four different loya jirga movements anticipating the end of Taliban rule. Little communication took place between each of them.
* The first was based in Rome around Mohammed Zahir Shah, and it reflected the interests of moderate Pashtuns from Afghanistan. The Rome initiative called for fair elections, support for Islam as the foundation of the Afghan state, and respect for human rights.
* The second was based in Cyprus and led by Homayoun Jarir, a member of the Islamic Party of his father-in-law, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Critics of the Cyprus initiative suspected that it served the interests of Iran. The members of the Cyprus initiative, however, considered themselves closer to the Afghan people and regard the Rome group as too close to the long-isolated nobility.
* The most significant was based in Germany, which resulted in the Bonn Agreement. This agreement was made under United Nations auspices, established the Afghan Interim Authority and paved the way for the later jirgas that established the Constitution of Afghanistan.
2006 – Afghan president Hamid Karzai said that he and the Pakistani president will jointly lead a loya jirga to end a dispute over border attacks.
December 2009 – after his disputed re-election, President Hamid Karzai announced to move ahead with a plan for a loya jirga to discuss the Taliban insurgency. The Taliban was invited to take part in this jirga, but they declined.
June 2010 – at Kabul, in which around 1,600 delegates of all ethnic groups attended for a peace talks with the Taliban.
17 November 2013 – at Kabul, in which around 2,500 Afghan elders approved the presence of a limited number of US forces beyond 2014.
April 29 – May 3, 2019 – at the Bagh-e Bala Palace in Kabul, held to agree a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban, amid negotiations between the Taliban and the United States. The jirga was chaired by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf and over 3,200 delegates attended. The Taliban refused to attend.
7–9 August 2020 – held to decide the fate of 400 Taliban prisoners accused of serious crimes, who were supposed to be freed as part of the Afghan peace process.