The jirga industry's hidden tragedies

On 27th August 2026, my cousin Zafar Ali, 35, who worked on a WFP project and was a human rights activist and the sole breadwinner for his family, was murdered on his way back to his village from duty in the suburbs of Kandhkot by assailants. His family is still struggling to understand why he was killed. The FIR was registered the following day against the identified culprits. However, three weeks have passed, and none of the culprits have yet been arrested. One might wonder whether the police are being influenced or are simply unwilling to nab the culprits.

Zafar's cold-blooded murder, instigated by the brutal tribal culture in northern Sindh, is not an isolated instance. It reflects an ossified and politically protected tribalism, a weak judiciary, the influence of political electables, systematic socio-economic marginalisation and politicised policing - all of which feed Sindh's thriving jirga industry. This industry grinds down people's lives, labour and dignity by igniting and cashing in on inter- and intra-tribal feuds, killing innocent people, undermining the police and boosting the warlord power.

The industry's deadly scope in the Larkana Division of Sindh is stark. Over the past eight months, 249 people were murdered in tribal feuds – 40 in Larkana, 46 in Kambar Shahdadkot, 75 in Shikarpur, 46 in Jacobabad and 48 in Kashmore. Also, 45 women were killed in karo-kari – 6 in Larkana, 5 in Kambar Shahdadkot, 12 in Shikarpur, 9 in Jacobabad and 13 in Kashmore. Trace the causes, and you will find politically compromised, complicit policing; the tight grip of tribal and feudal elites; the deliberate marginalisation of the masses; and a powerful nexus with local electables that shapes a brutal jirga industry.

Exploited by a brutal jirga system, subjugated individuals - acting at the instigation of tribal warlords or seeking to settle personal enmities, debts and egos - either murder their women in cold blood or exile them under the pretext of karo-kari, forcing them to live under the haunting shadow of false allegations. These perpetrators then extort money from the accused man (the karo) through complicit, paid jirgas brokered by tribal leaders. This is how karo-kari is fueled by this predatory industry, providing the raw material it needs to thrive.

Isn't the jirga supposed to be a mediation mechanism? Gone are the days when elders gathered to resolve disputes. Today, tribal warlords exploit conflicts to gain income, false prestige and distorted honour (ghairat). They leverage this manufactured power with political electables for policing influence, keeping the populace marginalised and locked in perpetual infighting.

Tribal warlords profit directly from these feuds. They court the warring factions, extracting money under the guise of offering assistance and manipulate police probe. Then, after exhaustive fighting, they reluctantly mediate through a jirga - unjustly, through paid compromises that leave at least one party aggrieved and primed for a future conflict. The cumulative earnings from instigated feuds, paid audiences with tribal elites and financial extractions before, during and after jirgas constitute the primary livelihood of most tribal and feudal warlords. Consequently, this predatory industry ensures that the populace remains enslaved by a false sense of tribalism.

The private guards and lackeys - locally called kamdars - of tribal warlords act as judge, jury and executioner against peaceful citizens. For them, a peaceful, educated person is a victim lost, a feud averted, and a potential bargain for money and influence gone.

Three weeks on, Zafar's family awaits justice while his killers remain free. Unless the police shatter the warlord-electable nexus and the judiciary reclaims its authority, the brutal jirga industry will continue to claim lives. Zafar's death must not become another statistic of impunity in northern Sindh.