Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: February 2014

دختران سیاه‌پوش با افکار تندروانه در شمال افغانستان [Blackclad Girls with Radical Views in Northern Afghanistan]

AAN •

BBC Persian, 28 February 2014 An interesting reportage about a growing network of radical girls' madrassas centred in Kunduz, established by two mullas four years ago and called Ashraf ul-Madares. It already has branches in Takhar and Baghlan, and plans to expand to nine more provinces. According to civil society activists, the girls enroled in […]

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“Ohne US-Truppen ist Afghanistan pleite”

admin •

SRF4 (Swiss Radio), 27 February 2014 The US are increasing their pressure on Afghanistan: President Obama, when calling his Afghan colleague Karzai, threatened to withdraw all troops if Kabul does not sign the BSA. Listen to the audio (in German) of an interview with AAN's Thomas Ruttig explaining that a 'zero option' could mean the loss of significant […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Cheating and Worse: The university entry (kankur) exams as a bottleneck for higher education

Obaid Ali •

Getting into university via the so called kankur exam is one of the highest hurdles for Afghanistan’s young generation wanting to obtain higher education. Each year, there are allegations of corruption, fraud and flawed management of the exams while the number of high school graduates sitting them increases. AAN’s Obaid Ali (with input by Christine […]

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Sikhs in Afghanistan face an uncertain future

AAN •

al-Jazeera/Hindustan Times, 26 February 2014 In a report about the situation of the Sikh minority in Afghanistan, AAN's Fabrizio Foschini is quoted from his dispatch on the same matter: Fabrizio Foschini of the Afghanistan Analysts Network said that without political power, Hindus and Sikhs have found themselves "in a competition for space and jobs at […]

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‘Moderate’ Taliban talk peace despite dangers

admin •

AFP/The Nation, 25 February 2014 The news agency reports on what it calls "a moderate faction of the Taliban" led by former minister Agha Jan Motassem that "is pushing hard for a new peace dialogue" and the killing of one of its leading members, Abdul Raqeeb, another former Taleban minister, in Peshawar last week. The article […]

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Nichts ist gut in Afghanistan

admin •

Neues Deutschland, 24 February 2014 German-language reprint of an abbreviated version of Thomas Ruttig's AAN year-ender, with a tendential headline added by the newspaper editors. Access for subscribers only. Original version here.

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‘Windfalls of war’: Companies with spotty records making billions off Afghanistan

AAN •

Fox News, 22 February 2014 "So who's getting rich off the war?", asks the right-wing US network and answers: "The biggest American benefactors of contracts in Afghanistan in recent years (…) DynCorp International, KBR and Fluor Corporation". And it says how: questionable track records, overcherging, enjoying almost monopolised access to contracts… Apart from that, it also mentions […]

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Past Is Prologue or: A tale of two Olympics

Anthony Agnello •

Shortly before a historic and emotionally laden Olympic hockey match between American and Russian athlets in 1980, the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan. The US, at that time, had actually already started its covert operation to support the mujahedin against the Soviet-backed regime in Kabul; it would be their fight that would finally lead to the Soviet withdrawal. In […]

Context and Culture Read more

[Interview with former Pakistani ambassador] Husain Haqqani

AAN •

The Diplomat, 21 February 2014 "I am worried about the fact that in 1947 what is today India had a literacy rate of 18 percent and what is Pakistan today had a literacy rate of 16 percent — a difference of just 2 percent. Today, the difference is about 20 percent. Today, India has a […]

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Bomb and Ballot: The many strands and tactics of Hezb-e Islami

Thomas Ruttig •

Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan – known as Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin, or HIG, in the West – has (almost) declared support for its former chief negotiator with Kabul as a candidate for the 5 April 2014 presidential election. This comes less than a week after it claimed the latest suicide car bomb attack in Kabul that […]

Political Landscape Read more

AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini on Kuchi community in Afghanistan – November 2013

Fabrizio Foschini •

Extensive interview with the author Fabrizio Foschini on findings of his report, ‘The Social Wandering of the Afghan Kuchis: Changing patterns, perceptions and politics of an Afghan community’

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AAN Co-director, Thomas Ruttig on Swiss Radio, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen – November 2013

Thomas Ruttig •

Interview of Thomas Ruttig by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, on UNODC report regarding poppy cultivation in Afghanistan

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