Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: May 2015

Amid Deteriorating Ties With Pakistan, Afghan Leader Makes Tough Demands

AAN •

RFE/RL, 30 May 2015 Abubakar Siddique’s Ganghara blog reports that “insiders at the Arg presidential palace in Kabul have confirmed” that Afghan president Ghani “has demanded that Islamabad end its longstanding support for the Afghan Taliban… in a letter to Pakistani civilian and military leaders… [and] requested specific steps to end the Taliban’s sanctuary in […]

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The (officially defunct) Taleban office in al-Khor, Qatar. Photo: ToloNews.

Pushing Open the Door to Peace? Pugwash organises next round of Taleban talks in Qatar

Thomas Ruttig •

Preparations are on-going for what are labelled “non-official” talks between Afghans of “different parties.” Organised by the non-governmental academic network, the Pugwash Conference, this will be a follow up to a first round of such talks held in Qatar on 2 and 3 May 2015 which brought members of the two biggest insurgent organisations – […]

War and Peace Read more

[Afghans] At home in Kolkata

AAN •

The Hindu, 30 May 2015 Inspired by Tagore’s Kabuliwala, photo journalists Moska Najib and Nazes Afroz, have captured the stories of the Afghans in Kolkata in a photo exhibition ‘From Kabul to Kolkata: Of Belonging, Memories and Identity’. See also AAN’s dispatch, by Fabrizio Foschini, here. and a guest dispatch by one of the authors […]

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News Roundup and Notes: May 29, 2015

AAN •

Just Security, 29 May 2015 The security blog has a link to Kate Clark’s bio of Afghan defence minister candidate Masum Stanakzai at its news roundup for 29 May.

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Portrait picture of Masum Stanakzai, nominated as minister of defense.

Stanakzai Goes from Peace to War: For Afghanistan, finally a defence minister?

Kate Clark •

The national unity government is making its fourth attempt to appoint a minister of defence. On 24 May 2015, the presidential palace announced the nomination of Masum Stanakzai who has been the head of the Joint Secretariat of the High Peace Council and Afghanistan Peace and Reconciliation Programme since 2009. Members of Parliament will still need […]

Political Landscape Read more

Die Taliban vor den Toren von Kundus

Thomas Ruttig •

Loyal, 6/2015 The magazine of the German Bundeswehr Reservists’ Association, in its news part, publishes a short version of AAN’s analysis of the situation in Kunduz province, based on an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig. Article not online.

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Is There Hope for Afghanistan’s Other Daughters?

AAN •

Foreign Policy, 26 May 2015 This blog looks at the case of Farkhunda and repercussions in Afghan society. It refers to the “storm of social media posts condoning her lynching” and uses quotes collected by “Borhan Osman of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network in his excellent report, ‘The Killing of Farkhunda‘.”

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A Delicate Balance: The regional puzzle surrounding Pakistan’s decision to stay out of Yemen

Ann Wilkens • Sudhansu Verma •

Power relations and cooperation patterns are changing around Afghanistan. Its two most intrusive neighbours, Pakistan and Iran, are both at a stage where long-set behaviour seems to be tilting in different directions, with linkages to China (in the case of Pakistan) and the USA (in the case of Iran). At the same time, Pakistan and […]

Regional Relations Read more

Dispatches Frontlines and faultlines on the world wide web Dateline: Afghanistan

AAN •

Indian Express, 25 May 2015 Praveen Swami says nice things about AAN, in a link collection what to read on Afghanistan: “Afghanistan Analysts Network http://www.afghanistan-analysts.org For policy wonks, and serious students of the conflict in Afghanistan, AAN is an essential source, providing scholarly analysis on current issues. AAN has sometimes been accused of being partisan […]

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Islamic State on the march? What fall of Ramadi tells us

AAN •

Christian Science Monitor, 24 May 2015 With extensive quotes from an article for al-Jazeera AAN’s Borhan Osman has written in 2014 under the headline “Afghanistan will not be the next Iraq”: It is the same situation faced by Afghanistan at the dawn of Taliban rule, suggests Borhan Osman, an analyst for the Afghanistan Analysts Network […]

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Thematic Dossier IX: Birds in Afghanistan

AAN Team •

It had started out as a grey, rainy week in Kabul – just perfect for birdwatchers. Birds flying north, sometimes thousands of kilometres on their spring migrations, are more likely to land in the green trees of the Afghan capital when the weather is bad. This week, AAN’s Kate Clark has been woken by the […]

Dossiers Read more

Stretched Afghan army falls back on militias to help defend Kunduz

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters/Daily Mail, 22 May 2015 A report about the Afghan government enlisting hundreds of militia fighters to battle Taliban militants near the northern city of Kunduz quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig (and others) being skeptical: Creating new layers of forces beyond the ANSF, which is made up of the army and national and local police, could […]

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