Loya Jurga

In the Pashtunwali, a code of laws of the Pashtun peoples living in areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan and neighboring countries, loya jirga (Pashto: لويه جرګه‎, "grand assembly") is a special type of jirga that is mainly organized for choosing a new head of state in case of sudden death, adopting a new constitution, or to settle national or regional issue such as war. It predates modern-day written or fixed laws and is mostly favored by the Pashtun people but to a lesser extent by other nearby groups that have been influenced by Pashtuns (historically known as Afghans).

In Afghanistan, loya jirgas have been reportedly organized since at least the early 18th century when the Hotaki and Durrani dynasties rose to power.

The ancient Aryan tribes, who are hypothesized to have spoken Proto-Indo-Iranian, came down in intermittent waves from Central Asia and Afghanistan. They practiced a sort of jirga-system with two types of councils – simite and sabhā. The simite (the summit) comprised elders and tribal chiefs. The king also joined sessions of the simite. Sabhā was a sort of rural council. In India it is referred to as Samiti and Sabha. The Indian parliament however is divided into Rajya Sabha (Senate) and Lok Sabha (House of Representatives) after the Westminster model. The Panchayat Samiti is instead used for rural councils.

It was used over time for the selection of rulers and headmen and the airing of matters of principle. From the time of the great Kushan ruler Kanishka to the 1970s, there were sixteen national loya jirgas and hundreds of smaller ones. The institution, which is centuries old, is a similar idea to the Islamic "shura", or consultative assembly.

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