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{ Adopted by Grand Council on: 4 Jan 2004 } { In Force Since: 4 Jan 2004 (cf. Article 162) } { Official Title: Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan } { ICL Document Status: 26 Jan 2004 }Afghanistan Constitution

KABUL : President Hamid Karzai signed Afghanistan 's new constitution into law Monday, putting into force a charter meant to reunite his war-shattered nation and help defeat a virulent Taliban insurgency. Karzai signed a decree formally declaring the 162-article document ratified earlier this month as the country's supreme law, drawing applause from dignitaries including former King Mohammad Zaher Shah, Cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats. The step was just the latest under a UN-sponsored peace drive designed to rebuild the Afghan state since a US-led invasion drove out the Taliban two years ago. The constitution outlines a tolerant, democratic Islamic state...

It took just 10 days from the passage of Afghanistan's new Constitution for the country's Supreme Court to violate the word and spirit of that hopeful document. Without any case before the court, and based on no existing law, the court declared on Jan. 14 that a performance by the Afghan pop singer Salma on Kabul television was un-Islamic and therefore illegal. "We are opposed to women singing and dancing as a whole and it has to be stopped," said the deputy chief justice, Fazl Ahmad Manawi. Even though state television has since flouted the injunction, the court's ruling underscores...

<p>The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan yesterday said Afghans will not be forced to practice Islam, even though the country's new draft constitution makes numerous references to Islam's supremacy.</p> <p>"The constitution recognizes that the religion of the state of Afghanistan is Islam," Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said in response to questions from The Washington Times. "The majority of Afghans, about 98 percent or so, are Muslims.</p>

The war on terror has produced a remarkable result in Afghanistan. The rule of law is coming to that often lawless and long-oppressed land in the form of a constitution that should be the envy of freethinking people across the Muslim world. Two years after the U.S. overthrew the Taliban and routed Al Qaeda from its Afghan sanctuaries, a fractious assembly approved the founding document for a democracy that is both steeped in Islam and guided by civil law. The constitution promises equal rights to women, language rights for the country's patchwork of ethnic groups and religious tolerance. Will it...

AFGHANISTAN The New Constitution Updated: January 6, 2004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What’s in the new Afghan constitution? The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, approved January 4 by a 502-member assembly in Kabul, creates a nation that pledges to be both Islamic and democratic. It establishes a presidential system that roughly follows the U.S. model, dividing government power among executive, legislative, and judicial branches. While it does not include an explicit reference to sharia, or Islamic law, it states that no Afghan law “can be contrary to the beliefs and provisions” of Islam. Experts say the extent of Islam’s influence in...

When Afghans hear good news, they fire their guns in the air. And this is precisely what many Afghans have been doing over the past week to celebrate the approval of a new draft constitution by the Loya Jirga, a high assembly of tribal chiefs, religious leaders and other notables who have always been called to lead the nation out of a tight spot. The latest session of the Loya Jirga lasted 22 days, not the 10 initially planned, and produced more drama than expected. But the assembly, which ended its latest session on the weekend, has done its job:...

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org comments on the ramifications of the new Afghanistan constitution. On Sunday, Jan. 4 the fledgling Afghanistan government (the 502 member Loya Jirga) voted in favor of a new constitution. This document, which was long in coming, was a source of concern for those interested in the cause of religious freedom. The constitution is not the document that Western Human Rights organizations such as ours would hope for; however, it is a step in the right direction. Like the U.S. system, it sets up a strong presidency with a bi-cameral...

Delegates to Afghanistan's Loya Jirga agreed on a new, democratic constitution for the nation Jan. 4. The agreement came after more than three weeks of "robust" debate that "thoroughly considered all aspects of the draft" and led to a "genuine political process," said a State Department spokesman. The Loya Jirga began debate on the draft constitution Dec. 14. President Bush congratulated the people of Afghanistan on the adoption of their new constitution. "This document lays the foundation for democratic institutions and provides a framework for national elections in 2004," Bush said in a written statement released by the White House....

<p>THE DEBATE raging between extremist Islamists and moderate Afghans over a new constitution for Afghanistan misses a vital link -- the connection between America's heightened national security concerns and Afghan women's struggle.</p> <p>During the past two decades, extremists hijacked Afghanistan's maturing democracy movement through the power of the gun. Now the extremists are doing it again -- justifying their actions with claims of Islam and culture. Yet, the argument against women's rights or democracy is neither Afghan nor Islamic.</p>

KABUL (Reuters) - Rival Afghan factions agreed to a new national constitution Sunday, clearing the way for the country's first free elections after nearly a quarter of a century of war. Ending weeks of bitter squabbling over sweeping powers proposed for the president and the rights of ethnic minorities, delegates at the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, overwhelmingly rose to their feet to endorse the charter. "There is no winner or loser," an impassioned President Hamid Karzai told a crowd wearing traditional turbans, skullcaps and headscarves in a giant white tent on a Kabul college campus. "Everybody has won, it...

<p>KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghans approved a new constitution on Sunday, embracing a deal shaped in three weeks of rancorous debate as a chance to cement a fragile peace and push ahead with reconstruction two years after a U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban regime.</p>

The large Afghan traditional assembly (Loya Jirga) adopted Sunday the Constitution of the new "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan" which envisages a presidential mode extremely, noted the AFP. "I invite you to pick you up as a sign of approval of the new constitution of the country", declared the president of Loya Jirga Sebghatullah Mujadedi. The totality of the 502 deputy ones then rose, marking thus officially the adoption of the new fundamental law of the country. Joined together since December 14, Loya Jirga adopted a text founder which institutes a presidential mode extremely, in accordance with the wishes of...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s constitutional convention agreed Sunday on a historic new charter, overcoming weeks of division to reach a compromise meant to bind together this war-ravaged nation's mosaic of ethnic groups, the chairman said. Just a day after warning the summit was heading to humiliating failure, council chairman Sibghatullah Mujaddedi told the 502-delegates meeting under a giant tent in the Afghan capital that last-ditch diplomacy secured a comprehensive deal. "We are very happy that all the members of the loya jirga have reached a very successful agreement," Mujaddedi said. He gave no details of how...

KABUL (Reuters) - Rival Afghan factions have agreed on a national constitution, officials say, paving the way for the first free elections in the country after nearly a quarter-century of war and bloodshed. The breakthrough came after weeks of wrangling at a constitutional assembly that exposed ethnic divisions and challenged the U.S. vision of a strong presidency. "There is good news, that we have reached a conclusion," Mirwais Yasini, deputy head of the Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, commission, told delegates. A full session of the 502-member assembly was expected to reconvene in the afternoon for the first time since...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - After a three-week rollercoaster ride marked by shouting matches, backdoor bargaining and boycotts, Afghanistan's constitutional council broke down again Saturday - this time over a single word. Leaders called the last-minute hitch shameful, and vowed that Sunday will be the final day for talks on the constitution, which is supposed to help the nation reconcile and rebuild after years of civil war. The missing word, delegates said, was ``official'' - the status that speakers of Uzbek and Turkic languages want for their native tongues. The dispute has highlighted Afghanistan's enduring ethnic divisions. ``Everything is resolved except...

Delegates at the Loya Jirga or Grand Assembly are holding talks on a draft constitution for Afghanistan. The blueprint is finally meant to place women on an equal footing in Afghan society. Hardly any other topic has captured the world’s attention as much as the fate of oppressed women under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The Taliban forbade women from working, barred access to education for girls, forced women to appear in public only with the all-enveloping burqa and in the company of a male escort. It’s been a disenfranchised life within the four walls of their home for Afghanistan’s...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Delegates at a marathon council to create an Afghan constitution have narrowed disagreements that threatened to scuttle the process and are close to approving President Hamid Karzai's demand for a strong central government, Karzai said Saturday. Some delegates still held out against a clause that would allow dual citizenship for top officials. That was an apparent jab at ministers who have returned from exile abroad to take up key Cabinet posts but have been unwilling to give up coveted American and European passports. Some 500 delegates at the grand council, or loya jirga, have spent three...

Afghan constitutional convention paralysed by deep ethnic split STEPHEN GRAHAM Canadian Press Thursday, January 01, 2004 Afghan loya jirga delegates line up Thursday in Kabul to vote for a new constitution. (AP/Aijaz Rahi) CREDIT: (AP/Aijaz Rahi) ADVERTISEMENT KABUL (AP) - Afghanistan's marathon constitutional convention has been adjourned until Saturday in a desperate bid to reach a consensus amid a boycott by opponents of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai. The decision, taken Thursday after scores of delegates refused to take part in a vote on several amendments to the draft charter, was the latest setback for the historic gathering, which has already...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Voting began Thursday in a broadly based assembly of Afghanistan's leaders working to draft a new constitution. Known as a "Loya Jirga," or grand council, 502 men and women from around the country have been debating a proposed 160-article constitution supported by the United States. However, as many as a quarter of the delegates are refusing to vote on five hotly disputed articles of the 160-article draft document, the BBC reported. The five articles cover items like official languages and presidential powers. The draft establishes a strong presidential system with a limited role for...