[3] Although Afghanistan became a sovereign nation in 1747 under the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani,[4] the earliest Afghan constitution was written during the reign of Emir Abdur Rahman Khan in the 1890s followed by a 1923 version.

[8] After the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the new authorities declared the restoration of parts of the 1964 constitution that are "not in conflict with Islamic Sharia (law)" to govern the country in the interim.

[9] However, this decision was overturned by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada in late 2022, who argued both constitutions are incompatible with Sharia.

[3] Bold as its innovations were compared with the functional autocracy it replaced, the constitution was filled with provisions intended to assure that the royal government would not lose control.

[3] Judicial restructuring and elective provincial councils were endorsed, but the constitution did not prescribe their structure or working arrangements.

No means was provided for an increasingly restless Muhammad Daud, a cousin of the King and former Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963, to return to power without nullifying the constitution.

In October 1965, following the election of the new legislature, an impasse over its approval of the new cabinet brought about rioting and intervention by the army leading to the death of at least three student demonstrators.

The proposed cabinet was withdrawn, following which a reshuffled one under the leadership of Muhammad Hashim Maiwandwal, a senior diplomat, was approved with little opposition.

The cabinet and legislature were constantly deadlocked, unable to enact laws vital to the constitution or seriously weakening it through long delays.