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Shrinking, Thinning, Retreating: Afghan glaciers under threat from climate change

Lying high up in Afghanistan’s highest mountains, hidden from most human eyes, are almost 4,000 glaciers, according to the first comprehensive Afghan glacier database. These glaciers are of critical importance for Afghans for supplying water for drinking and irrigation. Yet research shows Afghanistan’s glaciers are melting. Almost 14 per cent of the total area of […]

5 Jan 2021 Jelena Bjelica • Economy, Development, Environment

Intra-Afghan Talks (1): Rules of procedure agreed, but still no agenda as talks resume

The second round of intra-Afghan negotiations – as they are officially called – is scheduled to begin in two days time, on 5 January 2021, in Doha. The first round ended on 14 December after three months of talks. During that time, the teams managed only to agree on the rules of procedure for the […]

3 Jan 2021 Ali Yawar Adili • War and Peace

The Rules of Procedure for Intra-Afghan Talks

AAN’s working translation of the rules of procedures (published by VOA in Dari and Pashto on 9 December 2020 here) Introduction The credibility and honour of Afghanistan is bestowed by its Islamic identity and national unity. Our country can be saved from dependencies, [and] direct and indirect interference by others when Islamic justice is safeguarded in the […]

2 Jan 2021 Peace process

From Tazi to Afghan Hound… from hunter’s friend to silken-haired pet

Winter is the time when Afghan hunters go up into the snowy mountains with their dogs, known as tazis. These are lean, graceful creatures who use speed and keen sight to catch their prey. To the outside world, they became known as the ‘Afghan hound’ after officers in the British colonial army brought individual dogs to London a […]

29 Dec 2020 Kate Clark • Context and Culture

Afghan Exodus: Migrants in Turkey left to fend for themselves

For Afghans seeking refuge or a new life in Europe, Turkey used to be a major migration transit hub. With routes through Turkey largely shut down after a refugee pact with the European Union in 2016, the country is now permanently hosting millions of refugees and migrants – among them possibly hundreds of thousands of […]

22 Dec 2020 Christine Roehrs • Khadija Hossaini • Migration

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

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 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

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

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 Ali Yawar Adili • Rohullah Sorush • Political Landscape

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

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 S Reza Kazemi • Economy, Development, Environment

Janus-Faced Pledges: A review of the 2020 Geneva donor conference on Afghanistan

The 2020 Afghanistan Conference in Geneva (which took place virtually) has produced pledges of 12 to 13 billion US dollars for the period 2021-24. The result represents a drop of up to 20 per cent compared to the 15.2 billion pledged four years ago in Brussels for 2017-20 and significantly below UNDP projections for the […]

30 Nov 2020 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

“Helmand is my soul, my mother. I never want to leave”: Obituary for murdered journalist, Muhammad Aliyas Dayee, 1988-2020

One of Afghanistan’s most respected journalists, Muhammad Aliyas Dayee, was killed in a targeted attack on 12 November in the Helmand capital, Lashkargah. Greatly admired and loved by colleagues and listeners to his radio reports alike, Dayee’s murder has raised questions about whether the profession is a viable one as the incidence of targeted killings […]

25 Nov 2020 Andrew Quilty • Context and Culture