Sources close to the Taliban and a member of the peace negotiating team representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on Wednesday said that the Afghan Constitution will be one of the key points in the agenda of the second round of the peace negotiation talks.
 
He said that negotiators from the two sides have so far not held talks about the Constitution, but in the constitution will be main part of the talks in the second round of the negotiations.
 
This comes after Afghanistan’s Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danish on Tuesday said that the Taliban’s opposition to the current Constitution of Afghanistan is meant to cause the "collapse of the system."
 
Addressing a ceremony on the 17th anniversary of the ratification of Afghanistan’s Constitution, Danish stated that the Taliban’s confrontation with the Afghan Constitution is intended to bring the system's downfall.
 
In reference to the rumors about the establishment of an interim government as part of the peace process, Danish said that such move was aimed to cause the collapse of the political system of Afghanistan.
 
He said that an interim government does not mean the transfer of power from one man to another, but it is aimed at causing the collapse of the three pillars of the system.
 
Danish said that the current Constitution of Afghanistan has been ratified in full compliance with Islamic traditions and the values of the Afghan people.
 
“The Constitution has the capacity to address any plan for peace or a political transformation. The Taliban and their supporters, by opposing the Constitution, in fact intend for the system to collapse,” said Danish.
 
“The Constitution is likely to be the subject of a major discussion between the Taliban and the delegation that went to Doha from Kabul, so the issue of the Constitution can be a key part of the agenda of the talks,” said Faiz Mohammad Zaland, a university lecturer.
 
“If the Taliban and other countries try to impose something--it is impossible,” said Fazel Ahmad Manavi, the Afghan Minister of Justice.
 
“The Taliban by declaring the Constitution of Afghanistan is "Un-Islamic" want to score more points,” said legal expert Arash Sharivar.
 
“The Taliban aren’t prepared to tolerate the rights and the privileges which have been reserved for the Afghan citizens in the second chapter of the Constitution. In the first chapter, the Constitution of Afghanistan clearly supports the republic system, but the Taliban are not prepared to endorse the republic system and instead they insist on the emirate system. The constitution of Afghanistan also explains the differentiation of the pillars of the system, but the Taliban are not willing to confirm the separation of authorities of these pillars,” said legal expert Haroon Stanekzai.
 
The present Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was agreed upon by more than 500 delegates representing Afghan men and women from across the country at the Constitutional Loya Jirga (December 13, 2003 - January 4, 2004). The Constitution was formally ratified by President Hamid Karzai at a ceremony in Kabul on January 26, 2004.