In March 1963 King Mohammed Zahir Shah asked Prime Minister Mohammed Daoud Khan to resign due to the Pashtunistan dispute, which strained Afghanistan–Pakistan relations.

[1] Two weeks later, Zahir Shah appointed a commission to write a new constitution.

[2] The new constitution barred members of the royal family (with the exception of the monarch) from involvement in politics, a clause that was viewed as aiming to bar Daoud Khan from returning to office.

[2] After the constitution was drafted, it was reviewed by a 29-member committee, whose members included Kubra Noorzai and Masuma Esmati-Wardak.

[3] In order to approve the constitution, Zahir Shah convened a loya jirga in the spring of 1964.