Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: February 2018

Unrelenting on Human Rights and Democracy: An obituary for Pakistan’s Asma Jahangir

Thomas Ruttig •

“‘Speaking truth to power’ is a phrase we often use,” wrote Raza Rumi, one of Pakistan’s leading liberal journalists, about Asma Jahangir, one of Pakistan’s most outstanding human rights and pro-democracy activists, who has died today in her home city of Lahore after heart failure. “She lived, practiced it till her last breath.” Pakistan’s Human […]

Context and Culture Read more

Afghan conflict to intensify in 2018 ‘game changer’ / Malgré le froid mordant en Afghanistan, la trêve hivernale n’existe plus

AAN •

AFP, 11 February 2018 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted with a one-liner on the 2018 security perspective in Afghanistan: “This looks like a mutually escalating stalemate” as both sides adapt to the new tactics of the other, Afghanistan Analysts Network senior analyst Kate Clark told AFP. The French version here.

AAN in the Media Read more

Aanslagengolf in Afghanistan: heeft IS zijn hoofdkwartier verplaatst naar het land van de Taliban?

Thomas Ruttig •

Volkskrant, 10 February 2018 The Dutch daily pairs quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and ex-AAN colleague Borhan Osman, on the role of IS in Afghanistan. Here only one part of those quotes: Logisch doelwit voor tegenaanvallen is dan Kabul, waar de regering van president Ashraf Ghani zetelt en alle buitenlandse media zitten, zegt Thomas Ruttig […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Pakistan wants US to pay for Afghan border fence

AAN •

Gulf News, 9 February 2018 AAN research by Fazal Muzhary is quoted here on latest Pakistani ideas of fencing the border with Afghanistan: The Taliban can move with ease between the two countries in the often lawless border lands and are usually waved through by Pakistan security forces, according to the AAN, citing conversations with […]

AAN in the Media Read more

Afghanistan: how effective has [the] US strategy been

Thomas Ruttig •

ORF Radio FM4, 9 February 2018 Listen to a short analysis on the English service of Austrian public broadcaster ORF by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on what the new US air war in Afghanistan can and cannot achieve. As this was pre-recorded, a few points dropped out unfortunately, namely questions on US military claims that the increased […]

AAN in the Media Read more
Photographs of some of the victims of ISKP atrocities in Kabul. It is thought that ISKP victims were among those submitting representations to the ICC. 345 forms on behalf of almost more than seven hundred thousand victims have been submitted. (Photo: AAN, 8 December 2017)

Afghan Victims of War Crimes Want Investigation: Hundreds of thousands apply to ICC

Ehsan Qaane •

31 January was the deadline for victims of Afghan war crimes to share their experiences and opinions with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Based on information so far released by the ICC, the Court has received 345 representations on behalf of more than seven hundred thousand victims. These representations are important as they will factor […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Tougher U.S. strategy brings Afghan gains, but peace or victory look remote

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters, al-Jazeera, 8 February 2018 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted here on the latest uptick of the US air war in Afghanistan: Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network think-tank told Reuters there were limits to what air power could achieve, while pointing out that the number of civilian casualties had risen, which could be […]

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Warum die Bundeswehr immer noch in Afghanistan ist

Thomas Ruttig •

Bayern2, 7 February 2018 Listen to an almost hour-long radio programme with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about the 17 years of the Afghanistan intervention (as audio and podcast, in German), here in five parts.

AAN in the Media Read more

La violence gagne l’ensemble du pays

Thomas Ruttig •

Le Croix, 7 February 2018 The French daily, in it article looking at the current security situation in Afghanistan, quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig: La population des zones contestées souffre de la guerre à bas bruit entre l’armée et les insurgés. « On parle là des régions les plus dangereuses du pays, estime Thomas Ruttig, co-directeur d’Afghanistan […]

AAN in the Media Read more

The Cost of Escalating Violence in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

ICG, 7 February 2018 Former AAN colleague Borhan Osman, now with the International Crisis Group, links to AAN analysis in his look at the lastest wave of attacks: The recent Taliban strikes take place amid a wider escalation of the war. The uptick in attacks is not the first such increase over the past few […]

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Afghanistan’s Kyrgyz trapped on the ‘roof of the world’

AAN •

AFP, 7 February 2018 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted here on the Kyrghyz in the Afghan Wakhan: Previously the Kyrgyz only stopped in Wakhan for the summer, says Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Anaysts Network (AAN), travelling to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the Xinjiang region of China to escape the harsh winters. “After the 1917 Russian […]

AAN in the Media Read more
After the deadly truck bomb that hit Kabul on 31 May 2017. Photo: Andrew Quilty

Five Questions to Make Sense of the New Peak in Urban Attacks and a Violent Week in Kabul

Thomas Ruttig •

Between 20 and 29 January 2018, there were five high profile attacks in major cities and districts in Afghanistan. The three by far largest ones happened in the capital Kabul. This feeds into a month-long period of such attacks that began in late December 2017. Altogether, almost 250 people, most of them civilians, were killed […]

War and Peace Read more

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