Interview with the head of the Loya Jirgah Commission

After the formation of Afghanistan's coalition interim government, the establishment of the Special Independent Commission for the Convening of the Emergency Loya Jirgah is the next major step in implementing the Bonn agreement on country's political future. The Loya Jirgah is the country's supreme national tribal assembly, which has been traditionally convened to resolve major political issues. "This is a very important Loya Jirgah in the history of Afghanistan. I call it [the] peace and democracy Loya Jirgah of Afghanistan," Muhammad Ismail Qasimyar told IRIN. He added that apart from ensuring the participation of all segments of the Afghan society, women would get unprecedented representation. Qasimyar, in his sixties, is a jurist and a constitutional expert. He was a judge of the supreme court of Afghanistan in 1970s. He participated in three Loya Jirgahs - in 1964, 1976, and the Loya Jirgah which adopted the country's constitution in 1987. He was a member of the constitutional committee in 1976, and again was a member of the constitutional council in 1987 during Dr Najibullah's administration. QUESTION: Some experts on Afghanistan think that you have got the most important job in today's Afghanistan. How important in this Emergency Loya Jirgah? ANSWER: This is a very important Loya Jirgah in the history of Afghanistan. I call it [the] peace and democracy Loya Jirgah of Afghanistan. This is an emergency Loya Jirgah. According to the Bonn agreement, this Loya Jirgah has the power to elect the head of state and also the structure of the transitional administration, which will last, at most, for two years, from the date of the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirgah. It will also consider and decide upon the key personalities of the upcoming transitional administration. In other words, they are responsible to determine the fate of the future government and lay foundation for the transitional government and put in place a new political order in the country. Q: Given the situation on ground, what major problems and hurdles do you see to the convening of this Loya Jirgah? A: To deal with this question realistically, I do not see a major hurdle to block the convening of the Loya Jirgah. Of course, the situation is not ideal, because the 23 years of fighting and foreign interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan and the conflicting interests in and around Afghanistan have created many problems. It will be a miracle that you will change everything. There is now a culture of warlordism and an appalling situation. It will take time, but gradually and surely we will move towards the right direction that is peace, democracy and social justice in Afghanistan. I must say that peace and stability in Afghanistan are not only vital for the Afghans. Rather, this is also a need of our neighbouring countries and the region. Q: Are you satisfied with the composition of your commission? A: The major criticism on the commission is that some people say that they do not know some of its members. This was because their names were announced in a way that their professional backgrounds were not made public. However, it is an indication of the people's deep interest that they are asking for the biographies of its members. Q: How would you ensure that this time around this Loya Jirgah would have a broadly acceptable legitimacy? A: This Emergency Loya Jirgah would have the legal legitimacy, because, first of all, the representatives would come from the people, and they would have the backing of the people because they would be either elected or selected. In the tradition of the Loya Jirgah, some representatives were elected and some were selected. I don’t feel any shortcoming as far as the legitimacy of this coming Loya Jirgah is concerned. All the participants of the Bonn talks agreed upon this. All the Afghans want a Loya Jirgah. It’s an age-old Afghan tradition, it has its legal political and social legitimacy and strength and power. The Loya Jirgah adopted all the constitutions of Afghanistan. I do not agree with the Loya Jirgahs during [the] Babrak Karmal regime [Afghan president 1980-87], but nothing was wrong with the Loya Jirgah in 1976. Q: How would you guarantee the impartiality of this special independent commission? A: We would be independent, as the name of the commission suggests. As you know, the 21 members of this commission have been selected from among hundreds of names by the UN, which is legitimately the most impartial organ in the world community. On this ground, they have chosen strong people to safeguard the impartiality and neutrality of the commission towards different groups and political parties. We will remain impartial and we will not serve the interests of a certain person, authority, political party or group. Q: Can you elaborate the procedures of the Loya Jirgah? A: We will adopt procedures for the allocation of seats for the settled Afghans inside Afghanistan, and for the nomads and the internally displaced people. We will also allocate seats to the Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, which are more than five million people. Afghans in the diaspora that live in Europe, America and other parts of the world will get representation. Of course, a criteria for civil society groups such as cultural associations, NGOs [nongovernmental organisations], social organisations, trade unions of doctors, engineers, researchers and other professionals will be developed to ensure their participation. Let me add that we will have a significant number of women for the upcoming Loya Jirgah. I am sure it will be unprecedented. It will be more than 100, at minimum, out of an approximate 500 members. Q: There are other conflict resolution mechanisms employed for settling complex problems. Why in Afghanistan is the Loya Jirgah considered as the last tool in resolving major conflicts? A: The answer you have to find in our history. Loya Jirgah has a long history in our national life. In the last 250 years, we have had at least one Loya Jirgah in [every] 20 years, on average. The Loya Jirgah has been used as an institutional and legal tool to solve national problems. It has worked well in bringing together all the Afghans during many crises, irrespective of their ethnic, linguistic and religious differences. It has worked when there have been invasions or occupation. For instance, during the three Anglo-Afghan wars, the Loya Jirgah helped in organising the national resistance. Q: In conditions like Afghanistan, do you have the necessary help and assistance to go ahead with your task? A: The UN has undertaken the task to assist us. So the United Nations Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA), which is facilitating the whole process, provides the logistics, equipment and some other requirements. Q: How optimistic are you? A: I am optimistic, but of course, I have to be realistic as well. We hope that there would not be any great hurdles in the convening of the Emergency Loya Jirgah later on in the year.