The sitting of the Afghan parliament is the final stage in a roadmap for democracy adopted at a conference in Bonn, Germany weeks after the Taliban fled.
The nature of the new parliament is difficult to gauge, with the presence of several warlords, including some appointed by Karzai to the Senate, raising concern.
"The parliament will be conservative but not too much," said National Democratic Institute analyst Neik Mohammed Kabuli.
"Most of the main leaders are not extremists," he said.
`New MP Safia Siddiqi played down the possibility of strong divisions emerging, such as the ones seen in the civil war.
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