Search results

Covid-19 in Afghanistan (9): Into the third wave

Afghanistan has entered the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic amid an unprecedented rise in confirmed cases. Doctors in various provinces detected signs of the impending new wave soon after the start of the Afghan new year (21 March), but the government only imposed contact restrictions on 28 May and enlisted religious scholars to urge […]

11 Jun 2021 Thomas Ruttig • Rohullah Sorush • Economy, Development, Environment

Preparing for a Post-Departure Afghanistan: Changing political dynamics in the wake of the US troop withdrawal announcement

It is six weeks since US President Joe Biden announced that all international troops would be withdrawn by September and the reverberations of that announcement are still being felt in Afghan political and security circles. The government has been bullish in public, claiming the country is ready for the departure of the foreign forces. Yet, […]

4 Jun 2021 Ali Yawar Adili • War and Peace

Why does the Incidence of Polio Vary? A comparative study of two districts in Helmand (Part 2)

In this second of two case studies exploring why polio vaccination varies between apparently quite similar districts in Afghanistan, we look at two neighbouring district in Helmand province, Nawa, with its rare incidences of polio since 2001, and Nad Ali, which has seen one of the highest numbers of polio cases in the country. A […]

23 May 2021 Fazl Rahman Muzhary • Economy, Development, Environment

Why does the Incidence of Polio Vary? A comparative study of two districts of Kandahar (Part 1)

Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are now the only two countries in the world still suffering from polio, an infectious viral disease that strikes children, causing temporary or permanent paralysis and, in some cases death. Despite the availability of a vaccine since the 1960s and national vaccination since 1978, polio remains a persistent challenge in Afghanistan. […]

16 May 2021 Ali Mohammad Sabawoon • Economy, Development, Environment

At Eid al-Fitr, AAN Wishes Calm and Peace for Afghanistan

Eid al-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, has again come at a deeply unsettling and anxious time for Afghans. Even as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to take and harm lives, the war has intensified, appearing also to have become more indiscriminate and merciless. For the sake of Eid, […]

13 May 2021 AAN Team • Context and Culture

As US troops withdraw, what next for war and peace in Afghanistan?

The United States’ decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan unconditionally, and the apparent dead end of its efforts to broker peace in Afghanistan, will have profound ramifications for the conflict. The likely outcomes can already be seen, including, ominously, in how civilian casualties are back up to their 2019 levels. Scrutinising the patterns […]

1 May 2021 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Afghanistan After the US Withdrawal: An Elusive Peace – Three Questions to Thomas Ruttig

Institut Montaigne, 30 April 2021 The Paris-based nonprofit, independent think tank did an interview for its blog with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig to map out possible scenarios after the US and allied troop withdrawal from Afghanistan (in English).

30 Apr 2021 Thomas Ruttig • External publications

American politics grounded in fear, ignorance and fantasy: New special report on Afghans in Guantanamo, as US prepares to withdraw troops

President Joe Biden has announced that American troops will leave Afghanistan before 11 September 2021, a day that will mark twenty years since al-Qaeda attacked the United States and drew US forces to Afghanistan. Another anniversary is also looming: it will soon be twenty years since President George Bush opened the Guantanamo Bay detention camp […]

19 Apr 2021 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

New Special Report from AAN: “Kafka in Cuba, a Follow-Up Report: Afghans Still in Detention Limbo as Biden Decides What to do with Guantanamo”

As newly-elected United States President Joe Biden considers what to do with the almost two-decades-old ‘war on terror’ detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, we publish a special report on the last Afghans held there. Two Nangraharis, Asadullah Harun Gul and Mohammad Rahim, have both been detained since 2007. We also trace the fates […]

19 Apr 2021 Kate Clark • Special Reports

Disbanding the ALP – An Update: Major transition of security forces achieved during wartime, but at a cost

It is now six months since funding for Afghanistan’s oldest and largest community defence force, the Afghan Local Police (ALP) ended, and three months since the force should have been wound up. The early stages of the disbandment went badly, as we reported in October. The government was late in making preparations and failed to […]

15 Apr 2021 Kate Clark • War and Peace