Taliban constitution made public

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- A Taliban constitution for Afghanistan made public recently would ban "un-Islamic thought" and require women to be fully covered, a report says.

The 23-page shadow constitution, which would allow education for women only within the limits of Sharia -- Islamic religious law, has been offered as an alternative to the government of President Hamid Karzai, Britain’s Telegraph reported Saturday. The report said the document had been approved by the Taliban's central Shura religious council in 2005, but became known only now

The newspaper said the Constitution of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, written in Pashto and Dari languages, says, “Every Afghan has the right to express his feelings through his views, writings or through other means in accordance with the law,” but also warns violators of Islamic thought “will be punished according to Sharia.”

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wishes good working relations with all the neighboring countries and specially those who have supported the Afghan nation during jihad," the document says.

Earlier this month, the Taliban turned down Karzai’s offer of peace talks, which required the fundamentalist militant group to accept the 2004 constitution signed by Karzai.