"Punchaid" system in Pakistan?

I recently came across a reference to a “punchaid,” which appears to be a sort of traditional village council in Pakistan. Google only turns up a few passing mentions, which make me think that the English spelling “punchaid” of the Urdu (?) word is not the most common one.

Where can I learn more about this? Is there an English orthography of this word that is more common and therefore more searchable?

Try “panchayat” or “panchayati”

Here’s a link to Wiki’s disambiguation page, which contains several articles:

Thank you, very helpful.

Interestingly, the root of the words "punch (English) " and “panchayat” is the same. “Panch” means five in Sanskrit. A panchayat usually had five members and a punch (as in a drink) had five ingredients.

The others are correct. When I was a child I used to have some comics on the Panchatantra I rather enjoyed.

I can’t figure out how to copy a link from this tablet but if you google panchatantra they are the first return.

I would be surprised to learn that the word is widely used in Pakistan today, because they have tried their best to prescribe Urdu as a national language, and Panchayat is not an Urdu word. What was the reference you came across, OP?

It was mentioned in the federal honor-killing trial (in US court) of Mohammad Choudhry. The “punchaid” in Pakistan (also later spelled as “panchayat,” but I hadn’t gotten to that part of the transcript when I posted) is repeatedly referred to. Under whatever spelling it is apparently a part of local governance to this day in Pakistan.

No it’s not. It’s an informal gathering of village or townspeople in one part of one province.

Tomato, tomahto.

Is the word commonly used in Pakistan?

Don’t they call such groups “jirga” in Pakistan?

Only in Pakhto-speaking areas.*

*Pakhto is how Pashto is pronounced in the dialects spoken in Pakistan.