Month: March 2023

Between wish and reality: Evaluation of the Dutch contribution to Resolute Support

Netherlands government, March 2023 Full report and summary in English. This is conclusion no. 1: “The main objective of RSM — to create a self-reliant Afghan security apparatus that could permanently resist the Taliban — was not realised. The immediate reason for this was the unilateral decision by the US to withdraw all of its […]

31 Mar 2023

Unseen Taliban Leader Wields Godlike Powers in Afghanistan

Voice of America, 28 March 2023 A portrait of Taleban leader Hebatullah Akhundzada, summarising the little biographic information that is known about him.

28 Mar 2023

Back to the Village: Afghan city dwellers go home for a long-over-due visit

Sabawoon Samim •

After the Taleban seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the lives of millions of Afghans changed overnight. While these events have had a negative impact on the lives of many, some have seen positive changes. The end of the conflict meant that many urban dwellers who had been born in rural areas and had […]

25 Mar 2023

Poverty and old age: The struggle of Afghanistan’s senior citizens

Kabul Now, 23 March 2023 Some interesting figures about Afghanistan’s elderly population and retirees, including IRoA and Taleban budget lines for this group, by the English branch of exile online newspaper Etilaat-e Ruz: Out of an estimated population of 34 million, nearly 1.5 million are older people, with 58.64% being men and 41.36% women. However, […]

23 Mar 2023

Trübes neues Schuljahr: Taliban halten an Bildungsverboten für Mädchen und Frauen fest

tageszeitung, 22 March 2023 Op-ed article by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Berlin-based newspaper looking at the start of the Afghan new school and academic year which did not bring any easing of the Taleban bans on female university and girls’ secondary school attendance. Also Nowruz, as a public festival, was curbed for the second […]

22 Mar 2023

The UNAMA mandate and the UNOCHA Humanitarian Response Plan on Afghanistan

Cosmopolis, 21 March 2023 This online magazine re-worked this recent AAN report into an article of their own.

21 Mar 2023

Picking Up The Pieces [of Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic heritage]

RFE/RL, 21 March 2023 A report about conservation work on Afghanistan’s pr-Islamic heritage, under the pre-Taleban government and under the current second Taleban emirate, with some surprising detail. For example, that the Taleban have involved the Agha Khan Foundation (AKDN) in preserving the buddhist site at the Ainak copper mine. According to Gil Stein, a […]

21 Mar 2023

Simple Pleasures Amidst Great Frustrations: An essentially outlawed Nawruz in Taleban-ruled Afghanistan

S Reza Kazemi • Sayed Asadullah Sadat •

The second Nawruz, the first day of the spring and the new solar hejri year, after the Taleban’s return to power comes in an overwhelmingly frustrating atmosphere and appears even more lacklustre than the previous one. The Taleban have effectively banned it as a holiday and public celebration. A host of other crippling challenges such as severe […]

21 Mar 2023

Two Security Council Resolutions and a Humanitarian Appeal: UN grapples with its role in Afghanistan

Jelena Bjelica • Roxanna Shapour •

Recent complex negotiations surrounding UNAMA’s mandate in Taleban-run Afghanistan have shone a light on longstanding divisions among UN Security Council members concerning key issues, such as human rights, women’s rights, peace and security and governance. This year, on 16 March 2023, member states agreed to resolve their differences by passing two Afghanistan-related resolutions; one that […]

19 Mar 2023

Taliban Militants Fed Up With Office Culture, Ready to Quiet Quit

Time, 17 March 2023 Time magazine also re-worked AAN’s report about how Taleban feel in the newly conquered Afghan capital into a short article.

17 Mar 2023

What Do The Taleban Spend Afghanistan’s Money On? Government expenditure under the Islamic Emirate

Kate Clark • Roxanna Shapour •

When the Taleban captured power in 2021, they moved swiftly to take over domestic revenue collection, adopting Ministry of Finance systems for taxes and customs. As insurgents, they had been diligent tax collectors and brought a wealth of experience in collecting money from people, but little in spending it – outside the war effort. Since […]

16 Mar 2023

UAE: Arbitrarily Detained Afghans Stuck in Limbo

Human Rights Watch, 15 March 2023 New report giving a rare insight into the not well-known and abominable situation of “between 2,400 and 2,700 Afghans” who had been evacuated on private chartered flights to Abu Dhabi by the UAE (on the request by the US and possibly other countries) and accommodated in two locations there, […]

15 Mar 2023