Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: October 2016

Afghanistan tries to clean up its militias, both legal and illegal

AAN •

Los Angeles Times, 31 October 2016 Another how militias – both ‘official’ and private – strive due to rivalries among the local authorities, this time from Takhar province

Recommended Reads Read more

Taliban Envoy Breaks Silence to Urge Group to Reshape Itself and Consider Peace

AAN •

New York Times, 31 October 2016 The Times has spoken with the Taleban’s former chief negotiator and head of their political commission Sayed Muhammad Tayeb Agha – who is still influential among the more politically inclined insurgents – who has not only broken with nearly 15 years of public silence but also the so far seemingly unambiguous Taleban […]

Recommended Reads Read more
People seeking to travel to Europe in a bid to find a better life have been trying the cold Arctic route to get to Norway. Photo: Tolo News

Afghan Exodus: Can the Afghan government deal with more returnees from Europe?

Jelena Bjelica • Fazl Rahman Muzhary •

In the first nine months of this year, over 5,000 Afghans voluntary returned to Afghanistan from Europe. The recent signing of an agreement between Afghanistan and the European Union to allow deportations of those who have not been accepted as asylum seekers means the numbers of Afghans returning from Europe will rise. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica […]

Migration Read more

Neue Hochburg für den IS?

Martine van Bijlert •

Der Tagesspiegel, 31 October 2016 Article quotes extensively from AAN’s recent dispatch on the latest Ashura attack and the presence of ISKP cells in Kabul: Ein weiteres Signal für den Aufstieg des IS in Afghanistan aus seiner Sicht: Immer öfter werde über Kämpfe zwischen Taliban und IS-Gruppen berichtet: „Die Taliban fühlen sich eindeutig vom IS […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Multiple harvests drive Afghan opium boom

AAN •

AFP/Express Tribune et al, 31 October 2016 In an article about the latest Afghan poppy cultivation boom, the French News agency looks at Helmand province and quotes, among others, AAN’s Jelena Bjelica: “Some parts of Helmand plant twice a year, because of the favourable climate, but three poppy seasons would be thanks to genetically modified seeds,” […]

AAN in the Media Read more

International Criminal Court Poised to Open Investigation into War Crimes in Afghanistan

AAN •

Foreign Policy, 31 October 2016 The prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is ready to initiate a full investigation of a range of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including some by U.S. personnel, according to several knowledgeable sources. The article has no new information on the ICC-Afghan relationship but information […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Texas troops aiding effort to support, advise Afghan military

Thomas Ruttig •

San Antonio Express-News, 29 October 2016 In this article with a particular local US angle on troops in Afghanistan, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted on the general effectiveness of the Afghan troops (apparently using an ealier publication): In the view of Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghan Analysts Network, a nonprofit research group, the performance of […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Der “Islamische Staat” setzt auf Angriffe auf Schiiten

Martine van Bijlert •

Heise (online), 28 October 2016 Article on ISKP quotes AAN researcher Borhan Osman: Für Analysten und Beobachter ist das Vorgehen des IS dennoch besorgniserregend. “Diese Angriffe sind ein Anzeichen dafür, dass die Gruppierung eine gewisse Nummer von engagierten und erfahrenen Kämpfern in der Hauptstadt rekrutieren konnte. Obwohl es schwer zu sagen ist, wie groß die […]

AAN in the Media Read more
On 13 October 2016, President Ghani invited all political and opposition leaders to the Palace for consultation, where these leaders signalled their support for the NUG to serve full term, dispensing with their previous call for early election or a traditional loya Jirga. Photo: Arg

The Politics of Opposition: A challenge to the National Unity Government?

Ali Yawar Adili • Lenny Linke •

The failure to implement its own agreement and the continuing rift within the National Unity Government have created an opportunity for political opposition groups across the spectrum to voice their criticism of the government. In the past, Afghanistan’s political opposition has been made up of various councils and fronts, often associated with prominent powerbrokers and […]

Political Landscape Read more

IS militants abduct and kill 30 Afghan civilians, officials say

Martine van Bijlert •

AFP, 26 October 2016 In its widely-published article on the abduction and killing of civilians in Ghor, AFP quotes provincial council member Abdul Hameed Nateqi, a UN press release, Amnesty International, top US and NATO commander John Nicholson and AAN researcher Borhan Osman: “(IS) announces its emergence in Ghor by murdering dozens of civilians,” said […]

AAN in the Media Read more
A decorated car often accompanies the bride as she travels from her parent’s house to the house of new in-laws. In this wedding in the Ibrahimzi area of Deh Yak district in Ghazni province, the bride price was 11,000 US dollars. (Author’s photo: 2014)

The Bride Price: The Afghan tradition of paying for wives

Fazl Rahman Muzhary •

Weddings are hugely expensive affairs in Afghanistan, with excessive costs for wedding halls, lavish meals and usually a bride price. The bride price is the money paid by the groom’s family for the bride to her family. It is a contested tradition that is viewed as having no foundation in Islamic law and does not […]

Context and Culture Read more

Afghanistan-Krieg: «Es braucht Gespräche mit den Taliban»

Thomas Ruttig •

SRF, 25 October 2016 Listen to the audio and read a transcript (in German) of an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig with Swiss Radio about the security situation in Afghanistan before the backdrop of planned (or desired) deportations of rejected Afghan asylum seekers. He argues that a political solution – and therefore talks with the […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up