Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: August 2013

Narrower Than Expected: Political opposition presents “Electoral Union of Afghanistan”

Gran Hewad • Thomas Ruttig •

Today, 29 August 2013, a coalition of powerful groups and opposition parties, dominated by Northern powerbrokers, came forward and announced their “electoral union.” It could have been one of the first real political happenings in the wheeling and dealing before the presidential election of April 2014. Instead it was a surprisingly uninspired and chaotic event. […]

Political Landscape Read more

US-Iran Dialogue Could Have Positive Influence on Syria

AAN Team •

IRDiplomacy (Iran), 29 Augst 2013 An interview with Francesc Vendrell, the former Personal Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Special Mission for Afghanistan (and chair of AAN’s Advisory Board) abut the situation in Syria and the UN role in peace processes.

AAN in the Media Read more

What came out of the Peace Talks in Islamabad? An Afghan and a Pakistani take

Reza Rumi •

Did the Afghan-Pakistani peace talks in Islamabad over the past two days yield results to speak of? There were surprisingly positive moments – moments that justified the hope pinned on this trip. Then again, listening in closer to the concluding statements of the Pakistani Prime Minister and the Afghan President, both leaders seemed to be […]

War and Peace Read more

Pakistan avgör Afghanistanframtid

AAN Team •

Dagens Nyheter (Sweden), 27 August 2013 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here, with skepticism about Pakistan’s willingness to contribute to a peace process in Afghanistan.

AAN in the Media Read more

Pupils as Pawns: Plundered education in Ghor

Obaid Ali •

Empty classrooms, fake girls’ schools, teachers’ salaries siphoned off by warlords: in Ghor province in Afghanistan’s west, the shadows of strongmen loom large and schools, too, have become pawns in the power struggle between rival factions. AAN’s Obaid Ali has visited this remote, poor and conflict-ridden province and – in this second of three dispatches […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

From global bad boy to regional good guy: Pakistan overhauls its image

AAN • aaneditor •

NBC, 26 August 2013 In an analytical article looking at the current state of Pakistani-Afghan and Pakistani-US-relations, a number of experts are quoted. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is in it with this comment: ‘[He] believes the country’s leaders have made it clear to the U.S. that they think they have a major role in Afghanistan’s future. […]

AAN in the Media Read more

President Karzai wins Nawaz Sharif’s support for Afghan peace

AAN Team •

The Express Tribune, 26 August 2013 Commenting on Afghan president Karzai’s visit to Islamabad and the renewed vows for cooperation between the two countries towards a peace negotiation for the Afghan conflict, the Pakistani newspaper quoted AAN’s Borhan Osman recent dispatch. The Tribune singled out Osman’s assessment that the Afghan government “wants its own channel […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Karzai stresses need for Pakistani help in Taliban peace process

AAN Team •

Reuters, 26 Aug 2013 In an article about President Karzai’s visit to Pakistan AAN’s Borhan Osman was quoted on the bilateral relations and peace process: ‘[He] said people there might be disappointed that Karzai and Sharif had not show more solidarity on the question of the Taliban insurgency. “The two leaders were not on the same page,” said […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Af-Pak roller coaster and a possible new Taleban office

Borhan Osman •

Tomorrow, 26 August, President Hamed Karzai is visiting Islamabad; it will be the first visit since February 2012. At the top of the agenda: peace talks – again. In the lead-up to this visit, officials of the two countries spoke of alternatives to the Taleban’s Qatar office. AAN’s Borhan Osman (with input by Thomas Ruttig) […]

War and Peace Read more

Dances With Warlords: Karzai’s Latest Grist for the Presidential Rumor Mill

AAN Team •

Institute for the Study of War, 23 August 2013 Article on the possible presidential candidates and the likelihood of Abdulrab Sayyaf running, refers to a recent dispatch by AAN’s Martine van Bijlert: “Fahim’s concern with deflecting criticism touches upon another key line in Sayyaf’s proposal. The notion of legal immunity for former officials, in particular the mujahideen, has […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Jirga to be Held Within Two Months

admin •

TOLOnews, 22 August 2013 Emal Faizi, spokesman of President Karzai, has said that the proposed Loya Jirga to collect input from the public on the Afghan-U.S. Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) would be convened within the next two months.

Recommended Reads Read more

Opium-Anbau in Afghanistan: Ein Geschäft für alle

AAN • aaneditor •

Frankfurter Rundschau, 21 August 2013 In this article about the drug economy, part of a series about the international drug business, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and Doris Buddenberg are quoted. Thomas calls the international anti-narcotics strategy in Afghanistan, where all sides are involved in the trade – “contradictory” but Doris’ positions had been simplified: she in […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up