KABUL (Arab News) –The Taliban rulers were preparing to host a loya jirga, a grand assembly of scholars and leaders from around the country, authorities said on Tuesday, for what would be the first such meeting since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year.
The loya jirga is a centuries-old institution, a forum to discuss and reach a consensus on important political issues. It will be held as the Taliban — unacknowledged by foreign governments since they took control of the country — have been under mounting pressure to form an inclusive government to win international recognition.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is holding a large gathering of scholars based on the hopes and demands of scholars from across the country,” Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban government, told Arab News, adding that the Taliban government was “committed to solving the current issues in light of its facilities and limitations.”
Karimi did not confirm the exact dates of the meeting, but it was likely to begin as soon as Wednesday, according to last week’s announcement by the acting prime minister of Afghanistan, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund.
Preparations for loya jirga were underway in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, and the Kabul Polytechnic University, where the gathering will be held, has called off classes until July 2. Loya jirga meetings usually take several days.
The assembly will be held as a number of former administration officials have returned to Kabul following months of exile abroad and declared readiness to serve the country after security assurances from its new authorities.
Most high-ranking officials left the country after its Western-backed government collapsed when the Taliban seized power in August, following the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces after two decades of war.
The development comes as the country appeals for cash for survivors of the last week’s deadly earthquake in the country’s east, which killed more than 1,000 people and rendered hundreds of others homeless.
The deputy head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), Mullah Noordden Turaby, told a news conference in Kabul on Monday that the relief agency had no place to store food.
He said cash would be more useful to survivors struggling to make ends meet and the ARCS could help distribute money if donors were worried about transparency. “People ask for cash in the areas, they say they’ve received enough aid.”
Nevertheless, the United Nations and several other countries have sent aid to the affected area, Turaby said.
The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) reported progress in its latest bulletin late on Sunday, saying a shortage of tents had been resolved and groups were distributing various aid.
The Wednesday earthquake reportedly killed over 1,000 people and injured 2,000. More than 10,000 houses were destroyed. Among the dead were 155 children, with nearly 250 children injured and 65 orphaned.
The death toll and the trail of destruction made it Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in two decades.