Democracy is not alien to the genius of the Pukhtoons, as they are carrying on their typical and rudimentary form of government on democratic principles since times immemorial. A unique feature of tribal life is the Jirga system, a council or assembly of tribal elders, which closely resembles the Athenian democracy of the City States of ancient Greece. The Pukhtoons practiced this participatory sort of democracy long before Locke, Rousseau and other eminent philosophers expounded their theories about democracy.
Pukhtoonwali is the code of ethics of the Pukhtoons, the Jirga their Parliament or National Assembly and intrepidity and frankness an essential trait of their character. An atmosphere of equality pervades in tribal area and even a poor man dressed in rags considers himself equal to his adversary or his rich compatriot. This spirit is well reflected in their Jirga system, which, like the ancient Greek democratic institutions signifies their love for democracy.
The Jirga of today also plays an important and constructive role in solving the tribal matters. It is an authority for settling disputes and dispensing even-handed justice to all and sundry irrespective of their social status, influence and wealth. All matters including the question of peace and war within tribal limits fall within the purview of the Jirga. It consists of the leading Maliks and tribal elders. There are no hard and fast rules for the selection of Jirga members. All tribal elders Speen Geeri or (grey-beards) are considered eligible for its membership and each one of them has a right to speak and freely express his opinion. However, Jirga’s generally consist of persons known for their honesty and integrity. The Jirga exercises both executive and judicial roles and settles all disputes pertaining to the distribution of land, property, blood feuds, blood money and other important inter-tribal affairs on the basis of tribal conventions, traditions and principles of justice. It performs judicial functions while settling a dispute and discharges police functions when a threat to peace and tranquility or danger to the life and property exists within tribal limits.
The Jirga usually deals with inter-tribal affairs and serves as an instrument for dispensing speedy and cheap justice. After careful consideration, the Jirga decides the disputes on the basis of available evidence.
The Jirga conducts its proceedings in a simple manner. It interviews both the parties, gives them a patient hearing and examines witnesses to ascertain the facts of the case. After searching enquiries, the Jirga makes every possible endeavour to find an impartial and acceptable solution of the problem. The Jirga's decision is generally based on Shariat, local traditions, and justice and fair play. In serious cases the Jirga asks a party to clear itself of the imputed charge by an oath on the Holy Quran. This seals the issue once for all, as the religion is an extremely strong a force. It announces its decision only when the majority of its members reach an agreement. But Jirga members deem it prudent to obtain the consent of both the parties before making its verdict public. This practice is known as WAAK or IKHTIAR (Power of attorney). It is through the instrument of Waak or Ikhtiar that the Jirga commits both the parties to abide by its decision. The Waak also gives a binding force or some sort of legal cover to the Jirga's verdict and it becomes incumbent upon the parties concerned to honour its verdict.
http://www.khyber.org/culture/pashtoonwalai/jirga.shtml
