Session 5: Jirga and Pluralism, compliments?

May it be Jirga, town committees or regional assembly, they are similar in the sense that they all function according to the local norms, traditions and a commonly accepted set of rules. In Pakistan, we see disputes among a lot of ethnic minorities over rules and Shariah laws, power holds in the hands of the Jirga leaders making Pakistan much of a pluralist state.

The recent incident of a Jirga in Baluchistan imposing 50 lashes to a female violating one of the Sharaih laws was given a prime time on the television channels and convinced a lot of people, possessing different set of beliefs, to start criticizing the Jirga system.

In a country where no single set of laws is in the favor of everyone’s happiness, Jirga comes into play, people use Jirga system to satisfy their establishment of justice they want or consider to be fair. In my opinion, a single set of laws or a single constitution is very difficult to sustain in a state which is substantially plural. Calling it Islamic Republic of Pakistan and then alleging Ahmadis as non-muslims will bind the Ahmadis to go against the constitution to practice their own beliefs and traditional justice.

An interesting and uncommon thought would be the exploitation of the Jirga system which has taken place over the course of time. Initially the underlying essential attribute of a Jirga system is the Holy Quran, the elders use the laws stated in the Holy Quran to provide justice in the light of these laws but over time the elders have fairly exploited this system by taking the judgments into their own hands and making Jirga a disputable topic.

The Jirga system, in the times of Wali-e-swat, was the primary judicial practice and in comparison to the current judicial system of Pakistan, was very efficient. At present we might blame the ones holding powers in the Jirga system to have exploited it for their vested interests but we should not blame the Jirga system itself.