Kabul: Afghanistan has taken a step closer to forming a democratically elected Parliament following the formation of a committee to draft a new Constitution.

The nine-member committee, announced on October 5 will be chaired by Afghan Vice President Namatullah Sharani and is expected to produce its final draft for approval in 2003.

The current Afghan interim government under President Hamid Karzai is charged with the task of producing and adopting the new Constitution as part of the Bonn agreement struck last December following the fall of the Taleban regime.

The new Legislation is expected to lay the groundwork for Parliamentary elections within two years.

Former Afghan King Mohammed Zahir Shah is due to oversee the drafting commission, which includes two women, ahead of the Constitution's adoption at a special Loya Jirga traditional Afghan Assembly.

Afghanistan is currently using a Constitution drawn up in 1964 when Zahir Shah was still in power. The former monarch returned to Afghanistan earlier this year, 29 years after he was deposed in a coup.

The move to draw up a fresh Constitution was hailed on October 6 by the United Nations' special representative for Afghanistan as a positive step towards establishing a lasting peace after 23 years of conflict.

"After two decades of war and instability, the new Constitution is to provide a strong legal foundation for the ongoing effort to reconstruct the country, re-build institutions, prevent the recurrence of social conflict and achieve national reconciliation," Lakhdar Brahimi said in a statement.