Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: May 2016

Are Afghanistan’s Hazaras marginalised?

Thomas Ruttig •

al-Jazeera, 17 May 2016 Radio round table discussion with the participation of AAN co-director Thomas Ruttig after the Kabul TUTAP protests on 16 April, with link to listen to the entire programme.

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghanistan paid 11,000 militants to lay down their arms. Now the money has run out

AAN •

Washington Post, 17 May 2016 Money is drying up two months after the United States and other countries invested about $200 million in the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Program. Now this effort is effectively suspended “amid broader scrutiny here and in Washington of de-radicalization efforts as the Taliban leadership shuns peace talks. … The High Peace Council […]

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Why are Afghan refugees leaving Iran?

AAN •

al-Jazeera, 17 May 2016 “How do I explain 31 years of problems?” In Iran, many Afghan refugees are forced to exist off the grid and say they lack basic human rights. And, as HRW has reported, Iran has been recruiting thousands of Afghan refugees to fight in pro-government armed groups in neighbouring Syria – while some had been […]

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An ethnically charged dispute over electricity brings protesters into Kabul’s streets

Thomas Ruttig •

Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2016 Ali Latifi quotes from Thomas Ruttig’s TUTAP dispatch for AAN: “In both instances [through Bamyan and through the Salang], the transmission line will end in the power-hungry capital, Kabul, and go south from there,” Thomas Ruttig of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network wrote in an online commentary published Monday. “Many […]

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China: Afghanistan Backs Beijing Stance on South China Sea

AAN •

ABC News, 16 May 2016 “China on Monday said Afghanistan has expressed support for Beijing’s stance on the South China Sea dispute.” This is one outcome of CEO Abdullah’s visit to Beijing. In exchange, Afghanistan was admitted to China’s One Belt One Road project and was assured of  China’s willingness “to help with Afghanistan’s national reconciliation […]

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Power transmission line in Balkh province. Photo: Jelena Bjelica (2011).

Power to the People (2): The TUTAP protests

Thomas Ruttig •

When protesters interrupted President Ashraf Ghani’s speech in London three times on 13 May 2016, the heated controversy surrounding the route of TUTAP, a main electricity grid initiative, received even international attention. In Afghanistan, the tensions have been simmering since January 2016 when Hazara members of the government started trying to prevent a potential rerouting of […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Taliban deal the ‘best hope for peace’ in Afghanistan, says chief executive

Thomas Ruttig •

ABC News, 15 May 2016 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig quoted with comments on CEO Dr Abdullah#s statement that the Afghan government remains willing to negotiate a peace deal with the Taleban: Thomas Ruttig, the co-director of the Afghan Analysts network, said the ongoing deadlock had proven deadly for Afghanistan’s people. “At the moment there’s a stalemate, it’s […]

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Peace agreement to be signed in 2 months: HIA

AAN •

Pajhwok, 14 May 2016 The Afghan news agency has obtained an exclusive interview with Hezb-e Islami (Gulbuddin)’s chief negotiator Eng. Karim who deflated hopes that a peace deal with the Afghan government would be signed soon. He said the HIG leadership needs to agree first, and he reckons this would take “a few weeks or […]

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On 10 May 2016, the care takers for the positions of the head of NDS (Stanakzai, centre) and the Minister of Defense (Abdullah Khan, left) were introduced by CEO Dr Abdullah, they are still awaiting the vote of confidence by the parliament. (Source: Tolonews)

Old Names for the NDS and Defence Ministry: NUG proposes Stanakzai and Abdullah Khan, again.

Thomas Ruttig •

The National Unity Government (NUG) has finally moved to fill the last two vacant key posts in the national cabinet, those of defence minister and head of the intelligence agency. In the climate of mistrust between its two camps, it was not easy to identify mutually acceptable candidates – and, so, the names are neither […]

Political Landscape Read more

Shadowy unit seeks to exploit Afghan Taliban divisions in south

AAN •

Reuters, 12 May 2016 The NDS has set up a new, 300-strong  under-cover unit in  Helmand province “with a mission to exploit divisions within the Taliban insurgency,” government officials and a militant spokesman said. “One provincial official said the unit was operating in Musa Qala and Nawzad, two central districts abandoned by government forces in […]

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The Ugly Consequences of the U.S. Military Having Immunity to Commit War Crimes in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

AlterNet, 12 May 2016 In this article looking at the US government’s reaction at the October 2015 bombing of a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital in Kunduz that killed 42 civilians, AAN is quoted twice with some background and linked to one of our reports: As the Afghanistan Analysts Network noted years ago, “The U.S. military seldom publicizes […]

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Six convicts sentenced to death were executed by hanging in Pol-e Charkhi prison in Kabul on the morning of 8 May 2016. (Photo Source: Tolonews)

Afghanistan’s Latest Executions: Responding to calls for capital punishment

Ehsan Qaane • Jelena Bjelica •

On the president’s order, six convicts sentenced to death were executed by hanging in Pol-e Charkhi prison on the morning of 8 May 2016. The executions came after the president’s speech at the joint session of both houses of Parliament on 25 April 2016, in which he announced that the time for unjustified amnesty was […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

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