The 9 member traditional Tribal Jirga (council of elders or jury) in the newly merged tribal district of South Waziristan expelled the family of a young tribal journalist Meraj Khalid Wazir. Zali Khel is a sub tribe of Ahmad Zai Wazir in Wana area of the far flung newly merged District South Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which had once been in the limelight after the 9/11 attacks.
The Jirga announced a fine of 0.5 million Pakistani rupees on Meraj Khalid including the decree to demolish his home. This is not the first time when a tribal Jirga has committed such acts.
According to local journalists, in the past many jirgas’ elders have also fined local people, social activists and journalists particularly in South and North Wazirisran tribal districts.
There are different views regarding this decision. Locals, national media and social activists condemned and criticised the decision of the tribal jirga and they were of the opinion that in the presence of district civil administration, police and court, the jirga has no authority or legal mandate to punish or fine someone. Those opposing the decision said that Meraj’s only fault was that he took to social media against the jirga criticising its decisions. They said it is about time that these Jirgas are done away with as they represent traditions that are not in line with present times.
Meraj Khalid, a young journalist, working with a local Pashto Language News Channel Khyber News, is presently in China. He has been a staunch critic of the Jirgas’ decisions in the past, and has been of the opinion that after the merger of the erstwhile tribal agencies into the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, tribal traditional jirgas have no legal standing.
In this backdrop the Jirga declared that Meraj Khalid or his family must pay the fine and that their home would also be demolished. The Jirga also warned other neighbours and residents of the area that they must avoid giving shelter or support to the family of journalist, otherwise they too would face similar penalties.
In the meanwhile, when this development surfaced in main stream and social media, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Anwar Ul Haq Kakar and KP Chief Minister Azam Khan took notice of the issue and deployed police around Meraj’s home, but could not defend the journalist’s family for long, following which they left for Islamabad.
The police chief of the District South Waziristan Farman Ullah Jan Wardak termed the Jirga’s decision unlawful. It is worth mentioning that since long the tribal Jirgas all across the tribal areas have been losing their significance amidst allegations of partisanship and bribery.
In some regions of the former FATA region, the elders have abandoned their traditional role of resolving tensions and disputes. The former political administration would financially support the tribal elders for their support. Since the merger, the young generation and particularly the educated youth don’t comply with the role and decisions of the traditional tribal jirgas.
Reports state that Meraj Khalid’s family is struggling to sustain itself after its ouster. A large number of people inside the South Waziristan have expressed their sympathies with the family of Meraj Khalid, stating the journalist is being unreasonably targeted. Some politicians, social activists including journalists have urged the government to ensure its writ in the erstwhile FATA region and secure the lives, honour and properties of the tribal people.