The next decisive step for president Karzai was the formation of a new cabinet. He introduced names of ministers for approval since in the first batch only seven ministers got the vote of confidence from the parliament out of 24. The names of the second batch were sent to the parliament on January 9.
It is extremely important to include the people of Afghanistan in decision-making so that they do not become easy prey to the Taliban. It is imperative for the new government to pay attention to the long ignored induction of local bodies like Jirgas and Shuras at all levels of society. This is the only way public sentiments can be taken care of, paving the way to a healthy and balanced society free from extremism and chaos. It would create a positive mindset in the people for having been heard and given a chance to have their say.
The Afghan state consists of four key elements - population, territory, government and sovereign actors. The government consists of formal and informal governance systems. Technically, the government is a unitary state based on separation of power in three branches - the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. Each of these branches has characteristics of independence, non-interference and cooperation. The symbolic head of all three branches is the President, but in reality he is the head of the executive branch. The legislative branch consists of the Parliament and the Senate, while the Judiciary comprises the courts.
Informal governance exists mostly in rural areas of Afghanistan and includes the tribal structures, the landlord system and land-based clans. The main forum or institution in this regard is the Shura or the Jirga. These describe a consultative process, through which local and sometimes national disputes are resolved. Their membership is generally drawn from influential people of the area and are known to be non-biased individuals who understand the ways to resolve local issues. They could be tribal elders, religious scholars (ulema) or eminent influential personalities. Their decisions are usually binding. Jirgas are mostly found in Pashtun areas and springs from the Pashtun tribal culture, while Shura is the Islamic version of Jirga, followed by all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. Another difference is that a Jirga is more of an ad hoc gathering in reaction to a specific event, while Shura is a permanent and pro-active institution.
Both Shuras and Jirgas can be either formal (authority granted by the government) or informal (authority granted by the people). Shuras can be formed by the government on a province, district or village level, and are formal Shuras. Or, they can be formed by local people and are informal. Jirgas are always formed by the tribes themselves.
The only type of formal Jirga is the Loya Jirga, which is a national-level inclusive gathering that enjoys extensive powers. Its membership is determined by the object of discussion, but generally it includes parliament members, provincial and district councils and members of the Supreme Court. There have been eight Loya Jirgas since Afghanistan gained independence in 1919; the last one was held in July 2002 to select the head of the transitional government of Afghanistan.
It should be noted that the tribal structures in Afghanistan have been weakened by three decades of war. Many tribal leaders have been killed or forced to leave the country due to war and, in some areas, were replaced by alternative figures such as religious leaders or local commanders who derived their power from military strength rather than from the traditional tribal systems of power.
More than three million Afghan refugees have lived outside the country (mostly in Pakistan) for many years. Their children have grown up in a different environment and, to some extent, do not have an understanding of the traditional Afghan culture. But still, many elements of tribal culture are still alive and continue to be relevant among Pashtun populations in Afghanistan.
One important element is Pashtunwali, which is a code of honor practiced by the Pashtun community in Afghanistan and in parts of Pakistan, mainly in the NWFP. Pashtunwali is an unwritten set of rules guiding both individual and communal behavior. It consists of many concepts and qualifications. Among the most well-known are melmastia (hospitality), badal (revenge), nanawati (asylum, or giving protection to someone) and nang (honor). Pashtunwali is a defensive system which includes the concepts of Jirga, Chegha and Arbakai. Chegha means to "make a binding call" on someone for assistance or for other purposes, which can open the door for finding a peaceful solution to a conflict. Arbakai is a system of village militias formed by the Jirga to ensure that the Jirga's decision is implemented. The Arbakai is provided with the right to punish those who break the Jirga's decision in a conflict between the two parties. In Pashtunwali there are also a number of other concepts related to conflict resolution. The system of Pashtunwali managed all social and internal affairs of the Pashtun society both before and after Islam. In most instances, the rules of Pashtunwali do not contradict Islamic law or Sharia. Nevertheless, there are differences between the two. In general, Pashtunwali is a stricter and more regressive law than Sharia, and it is possible to find cases where the two have contradicted each other. For example, when two entities fight, Pashtunwali says that one way of resolving the conflict would be to exchange girls (badal), i.e. a woman from each side of the conflict has to marry a man from the opponent's side. This is clearly against Islamic law. What happens in practice, however, is that due to the poor knowledge of religion on a local level (both among the people and the mullahs), people are not aware of these contradictions and believe they are living according to Islamic law.
These local bodies play a vital role if consulted during the process of making plans as well as in the implementation of the plans. Government cannot implement any plan without the support of Shuras, Jirgas and tribal leaders because they are the influential figures and are representatives of the population. Hence, support of these people will pave the way for strong governance in any part of the country and they could resist any force if they were given attention by the government. In addition, the local bodies can play a vital role on the national level in the peace process, reconciliation and reintegration and in improving the security situation in the respective localities.
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