Jirgas being held against SHC order: HRCP
KARACHI, February 7,2005: Though the Sindh High Court has imposed a ban on holding jirgas, these symbols of parallel judicial system are regularly being held in different parts of the province, says a report prepared by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
According to the report on “Jirgas: a parallel justice in Sindh”, a copy of which was provided to Dawn on Thursday, at least 25 jirgas had reportedly been held from April to September this year.
The report states that despite the SHC’s ban, some district nazims and members of the parliament had been holding the jirgas and the writ of the law did not prevail over them.
The jirga system was introduced in its legal form in Balochistan, the area was then ruled by Sir Robert Sandeman, who saw this as an easy way of resolving petty disputes among different tribes without antagonizing any of them. The system helped the British rulers to control tribal chiefs and consequently maintain peace in the region.
The report states that the jirga system crept into the areas of Sindh like Jacobabad and Shikarpur, which had common borders with Balochistan. Later, it started making inroads in other districts of the province. The chieftains now hold jirgas for petty disputes like theft to major cases of property and murder.
According to the report, the police and administration support jirga system owing to the feudal mind-set of the people involved in these institutions. In many instances, the members of parliament have managed to get relatives of their party activists into the administration and police so that they could work to strengthen the outlawed system.
The conduct of main stream political parties with regard to jirga system is highly disappointing, as they often participate actively in these meetings, the reports adds.
It says that the jirga system does not recognize women’s rights and in the jirga the statement of a women concerned is taken from her brother or father. Women who are accused of being a kari (a women involved in adultery) are usually not allowed to defend themselves. If they are not punished to death, they are kept in the mansions of the tribal chiefs or sold as commodities.
The report says that the fines and penalties imposed by the jirgas often include an exchange of women between the two parties, alongwith monetary compensation.
A couple of years back, a woman was gang-raped on the order of jirga in Punjab. The report recommends that law enforcement agencies should be directed to strictly implement the Sindh High Court’s decision. Besides, the decision should be translated from its complicated legal jargon into English language, in simple and understandable local languages and widely publicized to create awareness among the masses, the report suggests.
It further recommends that any government official or politician who is known to have participated in the jirgas after the High Court’s decision should be heavily panalized so that people could know that the government intends to eliminate jirga system.
Reforms should be introduced in the judicial system to make it fast and less expensive – the two of the main reasons owing to which many poor people prefer jirgas, the report adds.
The report urges legal community to lobby with politicians to implement the necessary changes that will protect victims of the jirga system, particularly the women and the couples who marry of their free will.
The report has also published copies of many old letters of divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners of various districts in which the government officials have urged the sardars, and jagirdars, waderas etc to settle the dispute between warring parties.
The letters have been written to Mir Sunder Khan Sundrani, Sardar Khadim Hussain Khan Jatoi, Sardar Sher Mohammad Bijarani, Sardar Tago Khan Tegani, and others. Some of the officials writing these letters are A.B. Narejo, Abdul Jabbar Abbasi, Ashfaq Hussain Umrani, Sabhago Khan Jatoi, and others. The report also comprises interviews with various stakeholders.
Source: Dawn
Date:2/8/2005
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