Afghanistan's grand council was yesterday finally due to debate the new constitution after days of wrangling over procedure and uproar after a woman delegate accused former mujahidin of causing the four-year civil war.
The 502 delegates to the Loya Jirga ("grand assembly") have been divided into 10 groups to discuss the controversial document and debate the country's future form of government.
Malalai Joya, a delegate from western Farah province, inflamed the gathering on Wednesday by criticizing the mujahidin and calling for them to be put on trial.
Afghan soldiers had to mount the stage to keep order as dozens of angry mujahidin delegates rushed it, demanding she be expelled.
The unruly scenes were sparked after Joya opposed a plan by several mujahidin delegates for an open discussion on the proposed system of government before splitting up into 10 groups to debate the document which is intended to pave the way for Afghanistan's first democratic elections next year.
Joya's intervention exacerbated the sharp differences that have emerged over key issues such as the power of the president since Sunday's opening by former king Mohammad Zahir Shah.
She told the assembly the mujahidin were "the main factors who led this country towards crisis and civil war."
"They should be tried in national and international courts," she said before dozens of mujahidin rushed to the stage and demanded the expulsion of Joya, one of around 100 female delegates. She was eventually allowed to stay.
The struggle between former anti-Soviet mujahidin factions plunged Afghanistan into four years of civil war until the Taliban seized power in 1996.
Most of Kabul was destroyed by mujahidin fighting, rather than during the Soviet or Taliban eras.
Delegates are divided between those who support the strong presidential system laid down in the draft and those, including some mujahidin factions, who would prefer some form of prime minister or at least a parliament with real teeth to counter-balance sweeping presidential powers.
President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly said he will only stand in next year's presidential polls if the Loya Jirga approves the system laid down in the draft document.
Despite his repeated calls for a presidential system, Karzai on Wednesday said it was up to Loya Jirga delegates to decide now the draft constitution was in their hands.
"It's none of our business," he told reporters.
Some delegates however have alleged government interference behind the scenes and threatened to boycott the convention.
With Afghanistan slowly emerging from decades of conflict, several delegates have previously backed Karzai's view that a strong presidential system was needed as the country lacked the mature political parties for a successful parliamentary democracy.
Others pointed out that many groups claiming to be political parties are little more than armed militia factions.
However, several delegates have called for a parliamentary system and one said Karzai should compromise with his opponents.
Critics have warned that the current draft risks widening the country's deep ethnic and factional divides.
Streets around the Loya Jirga site have been sealed off while foreign peacekeepers, newly-trained Afghan soldiers, police and secret service agents provided heavy layers of security.
The ousted Taliban have threatened to disrupt the assembly. They claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Kabul early on Tuesday which damaged a house but injured no-one.
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