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Loya jirga, occasionally loya jirgah, is, literally, a "grand assembly," a phrase taken from the name of large meetings held among certain central Asian peoples, such as in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Mongolia. In Afghanistan, the loya jirga was originally attended only by Pashtun groups, but later included other ethnic groups.

The words loya (great/grand) and jirga ("council", "assembly", "dispute" or "meeting") are of Turco-Mongolian origin and originally it means in the Mongolian and Turkic language "great tent" (Ger, meaning tent).

Such meetings originally originate from the Altaïc cultures, so also from the Mongolian Empire. The Mongolian masters proclaimed “Timujin” (Ghengis Khan) in a Loya Jirga in the year 1206 to their new headmaster.

Under the Timurids and the Moghuls, although they had Turkish and Mongolian roots, the Loja Dschirga was advised in oblivion. On the one hand because they were very strongly persianized and on the other hand, because they had wezirs and diplomats, who were concerned with problems, that concerned the life of the society, completely to the satisfaction of the ruler.

In the afghanic (pashtunic) society the Loya Jirga is still maintained andvery strongly practiced, mostly in front of tribal chiefs or with them to solve internal and external tribalic problems or disputes with other tribes. The cause Loya Jirga is existing toward Pashtuns is not all Pashtun tribes are of Iranian/indo-aryan origine. For example the pashtun tribe of the Zadrans were originally a Mongolian tribe that became islamized and with it pashtunized. Today they are pashtunized descends of the Mongolian tribe Zadran that became lost in central Asia. Some other non-iranic tribes are the Ghalzais and the Zazais who are descends of the Turco-Mongolian Khaljis and the Jajis. The Zadrans and the Zazais are still known by non-pashtuns as Jajis and Jadran, in Afghanistan.

When the Afghans took the power they tried to legitimize their power with such a Jirga. While on the beginning just Afghans were using the Jirga later other ethnics like Tajiks and Hazaras were driven in by Afghans too but without considering them really in the Jirgas. The member of the Jirgas were mostly members of the Royal Family, religious leaders and tribalic chiefs of Afghans. King Amanullah Khan institutionalized the Jirga. He was also the sole who used it for three times. From Amanullah till the reign of Zaher Shah Khan (1933-1973) and Daud Khan (1973-1978) the Jirga was understood of a common meeting of regionally pashtunic master leaders.

The meetings take place in irregular distances.

There is no time limit in a Loya Jirga and the meeting take so long since decisions are made by agreements. Many different problems are advised, like foreign policy, declaration of war, legitimacy of leaders or the introduction of new ideas and laws.

Afghanistan

Loya jirgas in the history of Greater Khorasan/Khorasan (until 1857/589) include:

• 1747 -- near Kandahar, attended by Pashtun representatives who appointed Ahmad Shah Durrani as the new leader.
• 1793 -- calling up of Timur Shah Durrani, the son of Ahmad Shah Abdali, who wanted to transfere the capital of Khorasan from Kandahar to Kabul

Loya jirgas in the history of Kabulistan/Kingdom of Kabul include:

• c1880 -- called by Abdur Rahman Khan

Loya Jirga in the history of Afghanistan (since 1911) include:

• 1928, September --at Paghman, called by King Amanullah: the third Loya jirga of his reign (1919-1929) to discuss reforms.
• 1930, September -- a meeting 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.
• 1947 -- held by Pashtuns in the Tribal Agencies to choose between joining India or Pakistan.
• 1949 -- called during a dispute with Pakistan, declared that it did not recognise the Durand Line forming the border between the two countries.
• 1964, September -- a meeting of 452 called by Mohammed Zahir Shah to approve a new constitution.
• 1974, July--a meeting about Duran-Line and asking Pakistan of it (with terrible consequences)
• 1977, January -- approved the new constitution of Mohammed Daoud Khan establishing one-party rule in the Republic of Afghanistan.
• 1985, April -- to ratify the new constitution of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
• 2001, September -- there were four different loya jirga movements anticipating the end of Taliban rule. There was little communication between each of them:
• The first was based in Rome around Mohammed Zahir Shah, and it reflected the interests of moderate Pashtuns from southeastern Afghanistan, the same ethnic group from which the Taliban draws much of its support. 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 renegade member of the Islamic Party of his father-in-law, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who fought a battle over Kabul with rivals before the Taliban took over in 1996. Critics of the Cyprus initiative suspected it of serving 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 Bonn, which resulted in the Bonn Agreement (Afghanistan). This agreement was made under UN auspices, established the Afghan Interim Authority, and paved the way for the later jirgas that established the Constitution of Afghanistan.
• A lesser initiative based in Pakistan.
• 2002 -- organized by the interim administration of Hamid Karzai, with about 2000 delegates, either selected through elections in the various regions of the country or allocated to various political, cultural and religious groups. It was held in a large tent in the grounds of Kabul Polytechnic from June 11 and scheduled to last about a week. It formed a new Transitional Administration which took office shortly afterwards.
• 2003, December -- to consider the Proposed Afghan Constitution. See 2003 Loya jirga.
• 2006 - Afghan president Hamid Karzai said that he and the Pakistani president will jointly lead Loya jirga to end row over border attacks.^[1]

Baloch

April 29 2006 Former Balochistan chief minister Mir Taj Muhammad Jamali offered to arranged a meeting between President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and a Loya Jirga (grand jirga) for peace in Balochistan.^[2] A Grand jirga was held at Kalat in September 2006 to announce that a case would be filed in the International Court of Justice regarding the sovereignty and rights of the Baloch people.^[3][4][5][6]

See also

• Jirga
• Wolesi Jirga — "people's jirga", the lower house of the Afghan legislature
• Meshrano Jirga — "elders' jirga", the upper house of the Afghan legislature
• Nanawate
• Kurultai
• Thing (assembly)
• Witenagemot

References

• - Afghanistan

External links

• Q&A: What is a loya jirga?