Jirga (also called Panchyat) is an archaic concept nursed by the ‘colonial masters’ allowing to thrive with the help of the Jirga. Public disputes were resolved on a pattern identical to arbitration. With over-stretched land mass in the subcontinent under rule, the English left many aspects of governance at the disposal of locals to address. Being ingrained in our socio-tribal culture, Jirga is carried forward till today.
Initially, it used to be a council of notables or elders agreed by the disputants to adjudicate. Gradually, the Jirga concept degenerated and the political bigwigs with vested interests dominated it. Present day disputes being resolved through Jirga are mostly related to matrimonial relations, honour killing, eve-teasing, property claims, etc. Jirga or Panchyat system is commonly seen as rural phenomenon in our country. Orders of Jirga are often strange, bordering the moral bankruptcy and insulting to human norms and values.
In May last year, a local wadera presided over a Jirga at village Phul in Naushahroferoz and fined two labourers Suhail and Ayaz (brothers) to hold shoe in their mouth for hitting his car with their donkey cart. Recently held Jirga in Raja Ram area of Muzzaffarabad passed verdict over a rape incident allowing brother of the rape victim to commit the same abominable act with the sister of the perpetrator. It is a strange decision erosive to the bare-minimum norms and human values. Though action by local administration, Chief Minister of Punjab and suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court of Pakistan were reported yet these were a bit late as the Jirga decision was reportedly already executed. It certainly replicated a Jirga decision passed about fifteen years back in case of Mukhtaran Mai.
Despite a ban imposed by Sindh High Court in April 2004, the phenomenon of Jirga is still there. On 5 August 2017, a Jirga held at village Khadim Hussain Jatoi in Shikarpur settled a tribal feud between Badani and Saad Khanani – communities of Jatoi caste. As per media reports, local police guarded the Jirga venue and gave protection to people who decided the case. It was more than a year-old feud which took 27 lives. A serious clash took place between the said two tribes in July this year which claimed 15 lives including a passerby woman and a girl (died in crossfire) in the riverine area of Shikarpur district.
In May this year, a Jirga presided over by an influential tribal head settled a child maid rape case in Kashmir but the local police moved into action against him as the Supreme Court had already taken suo motu notice of rape incident. As per media reports a couple of days back, a tribal feud between Khosa and Mahmmadani tribes was settled through Jirga in Kandhkot. On every other day Jirgas are held to decide from petty disputes to criminal offence. These so-called Panchyat are sometimes held in government managed circuit houses.
In case of petty disputes perhaps Jirga mechanism as an Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a benign way to settle the issues provided its composition is judicially supervised and its proceedings are monitored by officials of executive branch and submitted to the relevant forum of judiciary. But the criminal cases are too serious to be left with Jirga whose composition is dominated by the cartel of feudal lords and area waderas. Hitherto judiciary was the only component of governance mechanism being not under the sway of the Jirga mongers.
Jirga is the part of problem but not the root cause of the problem. The malaise lies deep in our socio-economic structure. Both poverty and joblessness are creating frustration in people and give way to desperation and aggression. Once a quarrel is picked with other party, police and local administration’s non-partisan role to intervene is warranted. But administrative role remains skewed in favour of the party helped by the area feudal-lord. Absence of administrative justice sends the aggrieved party to the brink of despondency. The situation worsens to the extent that the disputing parties being weary of continual quarrel seek quick and summary disposal of the problem. Responsive administrative mechanism and lustrous judicial assertion are the only ways to contain the Jirga menace.