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The End of the Jirga: Strong Words and Not Much Controversy

The Consultative Peace Loya Jirga has ended in Kabul with reports back from the fifty committees of delegates, a speech from President Ghani and a communiqué which he said is now the government’s ‘roadmap’. Key points emerging from the jirga were calls for an ‘intra-Afghan’ dialogue with the Afghan government in charge, for a ceasefire and […]

3 May 2019 Kate Clark • Ali Yawar Adili • Ehsan Qaane • Political Landscape

Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (4): What will happen when the presidential tenure runs out on 22 May?

The Supreme Court has ruled that President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani and his vice-presidents shall continue to serve until the election of a new president. This ruling comes in the wake of mounting pressure by a number of presidential candidates and their political backers, who have called on the government leaders to step down after 22 […]

30 Apr 2019 Ali Yawar Adili • Political Landscape

AAN Q&A: Between ‘Peace Talks’ and Elections – The 2019 Consultative Peace Loya Jirga

The four-day Consultative Peace Loya Jirga will commence on Monday, 29 April 2019. This assembly – the sixth loya jirga since 2001 – was convened by President Ghani with the aim of discussing the framework for negotiations with the Taleban. Originally scheduled to start on 17 March, it had to be delayed for organisational reasons. […]

26 Apr 2019 Thomas Ruttig • Jelena Bjelica • War and Peace

Better, But Still Bad: UNAMA releases new report on the torture of security detainees

UNAMA has released its latest two-yearly report on the treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and finds perpetrators of torture in the Afghan National Security Forces are still enjoying immunity from punishment. Overall rates are down, especially in the Afghan intelligence agency, the NDS, but the proportion of those detained giving credible accounts of torture […]

17 Apr 2019 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Women and Afghan Peace Talks: ‘Peace consensus’ gathering left Afghan women without reassurance

One of the recurrent themes around the US-Taleban negotiations to end the Afghan war (so far without participation of the Afghan government) is the demand of Afghan women for “meaningfully participation” in the preparations for inclusive peace talks. This expectation also figured at a national consensus gathering (ejma) in Kabul in late February this year. […]

15 Apr 2019 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

ICC rejects war crimes investigation in Afghanistan: Continuing impunity for perpetrators, no voice yet for victims

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has decided not to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity that have allegedly taken place on Afghan soil. The Court’s Chief Prosecutor, after finding that there was evidence of the Taleban committing a range of crimes, including murder and intentionally attacking civilians, and of Afghan government forces and the […]

13 Apr 2019 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Why the Taleban Should Read the Afghan Constitution

As talks between the US and the Taleban move forward, we are starting to see the contours and obstacles to peace in Afghanistan. One of the possible obstacles to reaching an agreement is the Taleban’s view that Afghanistan’s current constitution is unsuitable and unacceptable. Ghizaal Haress, a prominent Afghan lawyer and a member of the […]

9 Apr 2019 Ghizaal Haress • Political Landscape

Afghanistan Analyst Bibliography 2019

Today, we publish an important work, a bibliography of Afghanistan. It is intended to be an up-to-date resource for studying and researching contemporary Afghanistan, particularly the post-1979 period. The author, Christian Bleuer, began compiling this bibliography in 2004/05 when, as a graduate student, he became increasingly frustrated with trying to find sources. Initially, it was […]

1 Apr 2019 AAN Guests • Context and Culture

Afghanistan Analyst Bibliography 2019

In April 2019, we published an important work, a bibliography of Afghanistan. It is intended to be an up-to-date resource for studying and researching contemporary Afghanistan, particularly the post-1979 period. The author, Christian Bleuer, began compiling this bibliography in 2004/05 when, as a graduate student, he became increasingly frustrated with trying to find sources. Initially, […]

1 Apr 2019 Christian Bleuer • AAN Bibliography

One Land, Two Rules (4): Delivering public services in embattled Achin district in Nangrahar province

Achin district in the south of Afghanistan’s key eastern province of Nangrahar has been heavily fought over by the Taleban, ISKP and government and United States forces. The delivery of public services has been hampered, helped or abolished depending on who has been in charge at any given time; ISKP banned almost all public services […]

25 Mar 2019 Rohullah Sorush • S Reza Kazemi • Economy, Development, Environment