Abstract
Afghanistan, from its inception in 1747, had remain an ill-defined country with no centralized authority until the rule of Amir Abdur Rehman (r.1880-1901). He not only settled the boarders of Afghanistan but also established a centralized government which, though dictatorial in nature, was ruled under the restrains of the ‘Sharia’ (Islamic Law) and Customary Laws of the Afghan tribal society. These laws existed in written literature in Pashto and Dari, but not in English. The first ever book in English containing the laws governing Afghanistan is ‘The Constitution and Laws of Afghanistan’ written by Sultan Muhammad Khan in 1900. The work is mostly derived from oriental customs and Mohammadan law. It describes the laws and constitution of Afghanistan before 1900 in the light of modern European laws. The author, Sultan Muhammad Khan, a British-Indian, the father of renowned Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, had been Mir Munshi (chief secretary) of Amir Abdur Rahman in Afghanistan from 1888 until 1898. After trusting and recognizing his services in Afghanistan, the Amir appointed him as ambassador to England for the period 1899-1901. This paper analyzes the established system of laws as given in ‘The Constitution and Laws of Afghanistan’.