The jirga was set to address key issues affecting the Pashtuns, including security concerns, political autonomy, and socio-economic challenges in the region of Pashtunistan.
Historically, Pashtun jirgas have provided a platform for addressing collective concerns, promoting dialogue on peace, political reform, and indigenous rights.
The morning would begin with an official opening ceremony, followed by a detailed visual and statistical presentation on the damages caused by the imposed wars on Pashtuns, enforced disappearances, and the displacement of civilians.
The jirga would conclude with final speeches from key leaders, the public announcement of resolutions, and a ceremonial oath-taking by the organizing committee members.
[5][6] It was attended by about 5,000 delegates, including politicians, tribal chiefs, researchers, clerics, religious minorities, women and human rights activists.
[7][8][9][10][11] Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Nawab Ayaz Jogezai, Muhammad Khan Achakzai, Abdul Rahim Ziaratwal, Abdul Qahar Wadan, Obaidullah Babat, Nasrullah Zayrai, Khushal Kakar, and Arfa Siddiq of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP), Manzoor Pashteen, Mir Kalam, Sanna Ejaz and Wranga Loni of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), Mohsin Dawar, Latif Afridi, Afrasiab Khattak, Basheer Matta, Bushra Gohar and Jamila Gilani of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), Khadim Hussain and Maulana Khanzeb of the Awami National Party (ANP), Afzal Khamosh of the Mazdoor Kisan Party (MKP), Farhatullah Babar and Ahmad Kundi of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Sardar Yaqoob Nasar of the Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN), Muhammad Khan Sherani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan Abdul Ahad khan kakar of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam]] (JUI), Chief of Waziristan Gul Alam Wazir, minority rights activist William Jan Barkat, historian Parvesh Shaheen, and numerous other Pashtun, Baloch and Hazara leaders were part of the jirga.
The jirga expressed concerns over Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis, appealed to the international community to help the Afghans, and denounced the barbed barrier along the Durand Line.
[13][14][15] At the funeral of Usman Kakar in Muslim Bagh on 23 June 2021, Mahmood Khan Achakzai announced in his speech that he would convene a jirga in Bannu within three months to discuss the major problems affecting Pashtuns, such as insecurity and power over their resources, and to find solutions.
[17] The city was also home to the Faqir of Ipi (Mirzali Khan) during his student life, who would later lead a guerilla fight against the British Empire and Pakistan from his base in Gurwek, North Waziristan.
[12][24] Responding to the jirga's statement, Muhammad Ali Saif, Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, categorically denied that Pashtuns were subjected to discrimination in Pakistan.
[29][30] These jirgas, both of which issued their 21-point declarations, were held to discuss the state of law and order, instability in the Pashtun region, natural resources, the trust gap between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the reopening of trade routes between the two countries.
[33] The jirga also demanded Pakistan Army to guarantee that they would not abduct or open fire on innocents in the tribal areas, or use violence or collective punishment against entire villages and tribes, and that they would not impose the frequent curfews on the movement of locals after minor incidents.