The Independent Commission Overseeing the Implementation of the Constitution (ICOIC) on Sunday said there are problems with the constitution and some articles need to be clarified. 

ICOIC earlier said there were challenges in terms of implementing 20 articles of the constitution and as a result these had not been fully implemented. 

“Article seven of the constitution says that Afghanistan will implement those conventions that it has joined. This article has problems. One point is that we implement those articles as long as it is not against Afghanistan’s laws. And the second point is that the meaning of “joined” should be clear. There are two things, one is that we (sign) a convention and the other is that we (join) a convention; (join) means that government has an obligation to implement the convention’s values,” said Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai, head of ICOIC,

Lawyers however said the constitution has many problems and that there are articles which are not clear and these need to be clarified.

“For instance, article 83 of the constitution, sparked controversy about the function of parliament and elections, whether parliament can still continue its job without holding elections,” said Abdul Wahid Ferozaie, a lawyer.

Lawyers also said the constitution needs to be amended and some articles should be revised.

“Articles related to courts, to interpretation of the constitution, to renewing elections and holding elections, need to be amended,” said Ainuddin Bahaduri, executive director of Afghanistan’s Lawyers Union (ALU).

Despite all these problems, Afghanistan’s constitution is one of the best in the region and gives Afghans more freedom than citizens get in some other regional countries.