Month: December 2020

AAN Obituary: Doctor, general, minister, trailblazer Suhaila Sediq (1938-2020)

Thomas Ruttig •

General Dr Suhaila Sediq, one of two female ministers in the first post-Taleban government, died on 4 December 2020 from complications of a second Covid-19 infection. Sediq who had suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for several years died in the same hospital she ran for over a quarter of a century until she was appointed Minister […]

10 Dec 2020

U.S. Leaves Behind Afghan Bases — and a Legacy of Land Disputes

New York Times, 8 December 2020 The US-led coalition in Afghanistan seized land for hundreds of military bases, often without the consent of the owners, most now held by the Afghan military. Villagers have fought for years to collect compensation and to get their property back, or to be paid their rent. Irrigation systems were […]

8 Dec 2020

Afghanistan’s New ­– But Still Incomplete Cabinet: No end yet to acting ministers

Ali Yawar Adili • Rohullah Sorush •

The Lower House of Afghanistan’s parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, has confirmed 20 out of 25 cabinet nominees proposed by the government and rejected the remaining five. The confirmation of the cabinet nominees comes more than a year after the presidential election, almost nine months after President Ashraf Ghani’s inauguration and almost seven months since the […]

6 Dec 2020

“Eat and Don’t Die”: Daily-wage labour as a window into Afghan society

S Reza Kazemi •

At a time when Afghanistan’s economy continues to deteriorate due to intensified conflict and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, AAN researcher Reza Kazemi gives a voice to daily-wage labourers who flock to busy town squares to find work and are among the poorest in the country. Based on conversations and observations in the major […]

3 Dec 2020