Search results

Obituary: The master of modern Pashto ghazal passes away

One of Afghanistan’s most important poets, Muhammad Seddiq Pasarly, has died, aged 85. Known popularly as the ‘Master of Pashto Ghazal’ (Pashto love poems), Pasarly also translated works by Indian poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and Persian poet and philosopher Omar Khayyam for Pashto readers. AAN’s Borhan Osman has written this obituary.   What is youth? It is […]

15 Jan 2014 Borhan Osman • Context and Culture

Little Leagues, Great Hopes: Afghan grassroots football kicks off

Afghanistan’s football premier league and its national team have received tremendous attention inside and outside the country, particularly after the national team’s victory in the 2013 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) championship. Children’s football, on the other hand, has gone largely unnoticed – although experts say that an Afghan team has the chance to even […]

13 Jan 2014 S Reza Kazemi • Economy, Development, Environment

Fear, Hope and Determination: Afghanistan and the 2014 Syndrome

Ever since in 2011 President Obama announced his timeline for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the prospect of 2014 has been looming ominously over the country. And now we are here, at the beginning of this almost mythical year. There is nervousness and fear, but also pushback, with some Afghans believing that the […]

10 Jan 2014 Martine van Bijlert • Political Landscape

A Mutual Interdependency? The BSA and why the US still wants it

Early in December 2013, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, made it clear that if the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between the governments of Afghanistan and the United States was not signed by the end of the 2013, there would be no more American troops in Afghanistan in 2015. […]

9 Jan 2014 Gary Owen • International Engagement

In memory of Dr Victor G. Korgun

When it comes to expertise on Afghanistan, not many look east. Those who did will have discovered Russian Viktor Korgun who, as we were sad to learn today, has passed away in Moscow. He was also respected in Afghanistan as shown by the invitation – as one of only few foreign experts – to a scientific conference […]

9 Jan 2014 Ekaterina Stepanova • Context and Culture

Innocent, guilty – useful? What’s behind the US-Afghan clash over 88 prisoners from Bagram

The Afghan government announced yesterday (7 January) that it would go ahead with the release of 88 Taleban prisoners from Bagram despite US objections. American politicians, including two senior US senators who visited Kabul in early January, have warned of further damage to US-Afghan bilateral relations if the prisoner release goes forward. The issue has […]

8 Jan 2014 AAN Guests • AAN Team • War and Peace

Armed, disarmed, rearmed: How Nahr-e Seraj in Helmand became one of the deadliest districts in Afghanistan

On a visit to Helmand in mid-December, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stated that when British troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year, they will have accomplished their main aim – leaving behind a basic level of security. But a new report by the Pentagon (1) tells a different story. On its […]

6 Jan 2014 Deedee Derksen • War and Peace

From Alexander the Great to Ahmad Shah Massud: A social history of the pakol

The flat, woollen, rolled-up hat called a pakol is nowadays one of the undisputed symbols of Afghanistan. But how such a humble garment, stemming from the remotest corners of the Hindu Kush mountains, made it to international appreciation on par with lavish silky chapans and majestic four-meter-long lungis, remains somewhat of a mystery. AAN’s Fabrizio […]

3 Jan 2014 Fabrizio Foschini • Context and Culture

A happy and peaceful new year!

Dear readers, here at AAN, we would like to wish you a happy new year. For Afghanistan, 2014 is a year of many expectations but also anxieties. May it be a year of successful transition, harmonious cooperation and real peace negotiations. We will be here to accompany you. The AAN team

1 Jan 2014 AAN Team • Context and Culture

Some Things Got Better – How Much Got Good? A review of 12 years of international intervention in Afghanistan

2013 marked the year in which the international community started to wrap up many of the initiatives to re-build Afghanistan – arguably the biggest international effort since the post-Word-War-II Marshal Plan. But where did this effort leave the country? For AAN’s year-end piece, co-director Thomas Ruttig has summarised what has happened, what has been achieved – […]

30 Dec 2013 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement