A “jirga,” or tribal assembly, is an ancient institution among the Pashtun communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A jirga is a forum to resolve disputes and a platform for generating consensus and finding solutions to problems. RFE/RL Correspondent Majeed Babar photographed many tribal jirgas near the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar before the onset of the Taliban insurgency a decade ago.
Pashtun Jirga
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Despite its participants being armed to the teeth, jirgas are held peacefully and aim to resolve complicated disputes through deliberations.
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An Afridi tribal leader in the Khyber Pass.