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Lack of Capacity and Capital: Is Afghanistan Under-Selling the Ainak Copper?

Containing 240 million metric tons of ore at 2.3 per cent copper content, the Ainak mine is considered one of the largest deposits of this metal in the world. It is located in Muhammad Agha district of Logar province, about 30 kilometres south-east of the Afghan capital, and was contracted to a Chinese consortium in […]

25 Aug 2012 Gran Hewad • Economy, Development, Environment

Guest Blog: Big Bucks for Big Players – Logistic fortunes of the Afghan war

The logistics business is one of the most lucrative yet murkiest aspects of international security operations in Afghanistan. Involving backroom dealings and hundreds of millions of dollars, the stakes are high, as is the alleged involvement of the Afghan political elite. So who’s running the show, what are the scams, and what will happen as […]

20 Aug 2012 Mohammad Jawad • Economy, Development, Environment

On the borders: Where do the attacks in Nimruz come from?

The recent multiple suicide attacks that hit Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province – with possibly one of the single biggest losses of lives in the Afghan conflict – received relatively small attention by the international media. Of course, both the global media and public are in a slack period regarding news from Afghanistan. The […]

18 Aug 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

Afghan Politicking after the Rebellion in Tajik Badakhshan (amended)

After a week of fighting, events in Tajikistan’s part of Badakhshan are quietening down. While a lot has been made in some media outlets of a possible cross-border Taleban link, events seem to have their background in the drug economy rather. On the Afghan side of the border politicking as a side-effect of the events […]

16 Aug 2012 Thomas Ruttig • Regional Relations

7-9 September 2012: Photo exhibition and conference in Trieste

On the occasion of the photographic exhibition ‘Nur/Luce [Light]. Appunti afgani’ by photographer and writer Monika Bulaj, the municipality of Trieste organises a three-day event with the presence of several international scholars, diplomats, researchers, media and humanitarian workers, focusing on various aspects of Afghanistan’s culture, history and politics. On behalf of AAN, Thomas Ruttig and […]

15 Aug 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Karzai’s Decree to Combat Corruption: Cause for Cautious Optimism?

Afghan President Hamed Karzai’s recent executive decree focussing on (but not only) the fight against corruption, which partly came as a reaction to debates at the recent international Afghanistan conference in Tokyo, sparked mixed reactions from Afghan parliamentarians, activists, experts and people at large. AAN’s researcher S. Reza Kazemi takes a closer look at the […]

15 Aug 2012 S Reza Kazemi • Political Landscape

The commuter of Alisheng: Death of a country district governor

The insurgent strategy of targeting rural government officials like woluswals (district governors) is not a new one, and it is gaining importance as the battle for contested areas becomes more acute. District governors cut a sometimes misunderstood figure in this war, as they are often portrayed as either old-times commanders or uninfluential pawns in somebody […]

14 Aug 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

The Takhar attack and Targeted Killings: the Legal Challenge

An Afghan bank worker from rural Takhar, Habib Rahman, is taking the British government to court over Britain’s participation in drawing up and executing the US military’s ‘kill list’ which singles out alleged insurgents for targeted killing. Rahman lost his father-in-law, Zabet Amanullah, and several other close relatives in September 2010 when an air strike […]

12 Aug 2012 Kate Clark • International Engagement

AAN Reportage: Who fights whom in the Andar Uprising?

The story of what is still being hailed by the government and media as a ‘popular uprising’ against the Taleban in Andar district, Ghazni has become one of the most ambiguous events on the battlefield for many years. The dominant and much-hyped account of what has happened presents an optimistic image of a purely popular […]

10 Aug 2012 Emal Habib • War and Peace

Parliament sacks key ministers: Two birds with one stone?

The Afghan Lower House of the parliament, in an unprecedented move, voted out the two key ministers of Defence and Interior, in a single session. While it is early to make predictions on who will succeed them and whether they will be kept on as acting ministers for a while, it is worth having a […]

6 Aug 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape