The 2001 Bonn Agreement on Afghanistan provided for the interim and the transitional government that followed a historic Loya Jirga in Kabul, to work on preparation of a new constitution for Afghanistan. A small committee was chosen by the United Nations and approved of by the head of the transitional government to work on a preliminary draft. The committee used the Afghan constitution of 1964 as basis for its work on the new draft.

Salient issues facing the committee were: Afghanistan's type of government. It had to decide whether Afghanistan's government be based on a presidential system, parliamentary system or whether it should be monarchical. In an article published yesterday on E-Ariana.com, Mr. Amin Tarzi has explained that the drafting committee has proposed a republican system. Indian model of a weak president and a strong prime minister and the French model of a strong president and a prime minister have been considered. The Indian model could have accommodated the aged former King as ceremonial president. Mr. Tarzi has painstakingly compared and contrasted some of the articles of the 1964 constitution and those proposed by the committee. His article is indeed an excellent insight into the contents of the proposed draft.

Another important and thorny subject is the issue of faith and religion. While there is no difficulty in establishing the official faith of the majority as Islam in Afghanistan, the issue of religious schools such as Sunni and Shiite could cause controversy. The committee, it appears, has stuck to the faith of Islam with only small and insignificant reference to the Hanafi School, adhered to by the Sunni majority. On the other hand it is to be stated that presently only an insignificant of number of Afghans are Hindus. There are no Afghans of other faiths living in the country.

The draft reportedly envisages a president and two vice presidents including a vice president for civil affairs and one for the military and police. The order of succession referred to names the vice president in charge of the civilian affairs as a replacement for the president for a period of three months after which fresh elections should be held.

Presently it seems that the drafting committee has opted for a secular system while upholding of the Islamic law.

BBC reported the establishment of a 33-member Review Commission by the head of the transitional government. Other reports stated that among its members a Hindu Afghan businessman has been included. This is an effort to show the intention of the nation that it strives for unity and equality among all Afghans. It is further reported that the Review Commission will start working on the preliminary draft from May 1st to June 30th, 2003. It is expected to carryout consultations with the people in all provinces and to gather comments and suggestions in order to develop a final draft. The final draft will be presented to a constitutional Loya Jirga in October.

The task seems to be monumental, yet extremely important in shaping the future of a country that was made to suffer for at least a quarter of a century due to imposed wars and conflicts in ideologies. The Afghans suffered greatly in defending fiercely their freedom and fighting the invaders. In doing so, they lost a great portion of the infrastructure upon which was based their social and economic values and principles. To repair the damage, a new updated constitution at par with the requirements of time on this threshold of the 21st century seems to be a must. This document needs to address many of the ailments of the Afghan society and find solutions to them that are just and democratic. The Afghan traditional values need to be married to the demands of the huge technological developments, yet the beauties and positive humanistic approaches of the Afghan culture should be maintained.

The Review Commission in the two months that it has been given has a difficult mandate to achieve. To do so, it needs to share the preliminary draft with the general public. Hold seminars, conduct interviews, invite written comments from the scholars and the public alike, study the same and draw conclusions and finally prepare a final draft. It also has to get constitutional experts involved in the process. Furthermore, it needs to answer some of the basic questions of whether a Western style democracy is practicable and compatible with the needs and demands of the Afghan society and whether there can be tailor-made model for Afghanistan.

The Review Commission would be watched with great anticipation by all Afghans who see in the constitution the solution to questions involving religious values and influence in the society, distribution of power, maintaining of justice and equality, equality in the distribution of resources and equal opportunity in economic progress and development. 04/25/03