The federal government's recent move to revive the jirga system in the newly merged districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is not just regressive, but also unconstitutional and dangerously reminiscent of the colonial-era governance. A committee led by the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan has been formed to explore alternative justice systems in these districts, raising fears of a de facto rollback of the 25th Constitutional Amendment, which integrated the former tribal areas into Pakistan's legal and administrative mainstream and abolished the jirga system — a move celebrated as a step towards constitutional equality, rule of law, and human rights for the region's long-neglected population.

Nonetheless, the initiative to reinstate this system signals not only a betrayal of the promises made to the tribal population but also a troubling attempt to offload state responsibility for justice onto a parallel, informal, and often brutal institution.

Undoubtedly, jirgas operate entirely outside the constitutional framework and the rule of........

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