Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: August 2014

Afghan Elections Dilemma: Finish before it finishes you

Martine van Bijlert •

Khaama Press, 31 August 2014 Article quotes recent AAN dispatch by S Reza Kazemi: The outgoing president urges both runners and IEC to wrap things up sooner as he is packing his stuff up and leaving the much demanded and desired – at least in Afghan politics – chair of Arg (Palace). People can’t decide […]

AAN in the Media Read more
Discussions during the "special audit", while the candidates' agents were still present. Kabul, August 2014 Photo: Martine van Bijlert

Elections 2014 (46): Déjà vu – Abdullah pulls out, process continues

Martine van Bijlert •

What has the Abdullah team been playing at, pulling out of the audit again? Hard to say – but it is a risky all-or-nothing gamble, writes Martine van Bijlert. She summarises what has been happening over the past week, looking at the candidates’ behaviour and possible motives behind their strategies, but also at the ‘progress’ […]

Political Landscape Read more

Will the ‘Heart of Asia’ start beating? A review of the regional co-operation process

S Reza Kazemi •

The dragging-on of the presidential election has also affected regional co-operation on Afghanistan. The Afghan government, supported by the international community, has been attempting to work with regional states towards co-operation on security and development in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood under what is called the ‘Heart of Asia’ or Istanbul process since November 2011. Scheduled […]

Regional Relations Read more

Takhar gold mine contract seen as illegal

AAN •

Pajhwok Afghan News, 28 August 2014 Afghan mining watch organisatione Integrity Watch alleges that the contract for the Nuraba and Semti gold mines in the Chahab district of Takhar province has been awarded on the basis of favoritism and in a non-transparent manner. According to the organisation, the contract signed by former mining minister Wahidullah Shahrani and and […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Artilleriefeuer vor den Toren von Kundus: Vormarsch der Taliban

AAN •

Frankfurter Allgemeine, 28 August 2014 Friederike Böge’s article about the Taleban gains in Kunduz city quotes from AAN’s dispatch: the districts of Char Darah and Khanabad are „almost completely under Taleban controll“ and are almost as close to taking the city as in 1997.

AAN in the Media Read more

The ‘Other Guantanamo’ (8): A full list of foreign detainees at Bagram?

Kate Clark •

 The United States military has always been highly secretive about the men it holds at the detention centre on Bagram airbase, only ever releasing one list of names – in February 2009, following a Freedom of Information request. AAN’s Kate Clark has been going through various sources of information and has put together what may […]

War and Peace Read more

Delays, fights marred Afghanistan’s election recount

Martine van Bijlert •

Los Angeles Times, 28 August 2014 AAN’s Obaid Ali is quoted on the growing disillusionment surrounding Afghanistan’s electoral process: For many Afghans, a government that makes space for both teams seems similar to what they’ve seen before. While both candidates have pledged to stamp out corruption, which has mushroomed during President Hamid Karzai’s 12-year administration, […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghanistan’s Abdullah threatens to withdraw from recount process

Martine van Bijlert •

Christian Science Monitor, 26 August 2014 Article quotes extensively from recent dispatch by AAN’s Martine van Bijlert on the reasons for and complications involved in splitting the audit into a “special” and a “normal audit.”

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghanistan im politischen Vakuum

AAN •

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 24 August 2014 In this article on the pre-election mood in Afghanistan, AAN’s Martine van Bijlert is quoted: “Das Ego der beiden Kandidaten ist laut Martine van Bijlert vom Afghanistan Analysts Network, einem unabhängigen Think-Tank in Kabul, aber nicht das grösste Problem. Ghani und Abdullah könnten sich durchaus auf einen Kompromiss einigen, […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Review of Afghanistan’s presidential runoff vote nearing end

Martine van Bijlert •

Stars and Stripes, 25 August 2014 Article quotes AAN’s Martine van Bijlert on what are supposed to be the final stages of Afghanistan’s electoral process: ‘The adjudication process that began Monday will likely generate new disputes. … The resulting three-day lag, plus the time needed to recount and then adjudicate the ballot boxes from the suspect […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghans Laud, Rights Groups Concerned By ‘Take No Prisoners’ Orders

AAN •

RFE/RL, 24 August 2014 Frud Bezhan looks at instructions to the Afghan security forces to kill militants on the battlefield instead of taking them prisoner and transferring them for prosecution. HRW’s Patricia Gossman, also an AAN member, says: “When Afghan forces are fighting the Taliban then the militants are military targets and there is no legal issue. It’s once […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Thematic Dossier IV: Afghanistan’s 2014 Presidential and Provincial Council Elections

AAN Team •

This year’s ‘political transition’ is hugely important: if all goes well, Afghanistan will see a new leader and a rare example in its history of a change of government not involving death, coup or conquest. If it goes badly, there will be consequences for the country’s stability. For many of those at the Afghanistan Analysts […]

Dossiers Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up