By IOL Correspondent, Asif Farooqi

KABUL, June 1 (IslamOnline) - The Loya Jirga (grand council) of Afghan elders was expected to approve a proposal by the interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai for the establishment of a parliament for the transitional period.

If approved, as the expectations were that it would, the proposal would be a slight deviation from the Bonn agreement, which gave birth to the current political process in this war-shattered country.

The agreement signed between different Afghan factions on December 22 at Bonn favored a parliament only after the constitution was in place and general elections held after the initial 18 months of the transitional government.

However, Hamid Karzai, the president-elect for the transitional period, during the Loya Jirga proceedings, Saturday June 15, came out with a proposal that the meeting of elders should also elect a parliament for the transitional period in the same pattern as that of a permanent nature.

It means that the 111 member-parliament will have two representatives from each of 32 provinces and remaining seats will be fixed for women and other community groups like technocrats, expatriates, professionals and religious people.

The delegates seem happy about the proposal as they started discussion on the proposal forthwith. The proposed parliament, contrary to the one suggested in the Bonn agreement, would not have legislative authority but it would only be a consultative body.

With the Jirga yet to give formal approval to the establishment of the parliament, the political bickering for the post of the chairman of the elected body already got underway with two prominent political figures, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani and Pir Syed Gillani coming out as the prospect candidates.