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Flash from the Past: Kabul security handed back to Afghans in 2008

Ten years (and a few weeks) ago, in August 2008, a process started that would later become known as enteqal (transition), namely of security responsibility from NATO to the Afghan forces. (*) This process was supposed to be finalised by the end of 2014. Full troop withdrawal was never fully achieved, though. NATO troops’ “watchful eye […]

22 Sep 2018 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

Before Ashura: Extra security measures in place for second year running

This year, the ten-day commemoration of Muharram by Afghanistan’s Shia Muslims follows a wave of bloody attacks directed against them, most claimed by the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP). In 2017, the government armed and paid guards at some mosques and other religious buildings in an attempt to thwart attacks. Those guards have stayed […]

19 Sep 2018 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Ferocious Attack on ICC: Washington threatens court if it investigates alleged US war crimes in Afghanistan

President Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, has made a withering attack on the International Criminal Court (ICC), threatening prosecutions against personnel and retaliation against any country cooperating with the Court if it ‘goes after’ America. Bolton’s intervention comes as the judges of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber weigh up whether or not to authorise a […]

12 Sep 2018 Kate Clark • International Engagement

New Confusion About ISKP: A case study from Sar-e Pul

After the defeat of a self-proclaimed ISKP group in Jawzjan in July 2018, focus has shifted to neighbouring Sar-e Pul. Russian media in particular have alleged that there are more pro-ISKP groups active in this province. AAN’s Obaid Ali (with inputs from Thomas Ruttig) has looked into Sar-e Pul’s insurgency landscape and found no indication […]

7 Sep 2018 Obaid Ali • War and Peace

Killing Time in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Afghan migrants try a new route into the EU

Since January, around 800 Afghans have arrived in the non-EU country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an attempt to find a new route into the European Union. They are mainly camping out in dilapidated buildings and makeshift structures in the towns of Bihać and Velika Kladuša, both near to the north-western border with EU member […]

4 Sep 2018 Elizabeth Wait • Migration

Blue Gold: The quest for household water in Kabul city

Given growing water scarcity and pollution, increasing numbers of residents in Kabul city are struggling to provide enough safe water for their households. Many are forced to turn to the expanding private water business for their needs: eitherby paying for water from mobile water tankers, subscribing to local private water supply companies or buying bottled […]

30 Aug 2018 S Reza Kazemi • Economy, Development, Environment

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (13): New voter registry too good to be true

One of the main goals of Afghanistan launching a new voter registration process – a key provision of the 2014 National Unity Government Agreement – was to more accurately match the number of ballot papers to the number of voters in any given area. It was hoped this would reduce the opportunities for ballot stuffing. […]

28 Aug 2018 Scott Warden • Political Landscape

El Borak, N. Ullah and The Way to Turkestan: An AAN Context and Culture Eid Reading List

After the fighting in Ghazni and the atrocity at the learning centre in Kabul’s Dasht-e Barchi neighbourhood, this is another of these Eid holidays into which many go in a subdued if not even depressed mood. We at AAN share these feelings, and our thoughts are with the relatives of the victims, their friends and […]

22 Aug 2018 Thomas Ruttig • Context and Culture

On Eid al-Adha, AAN Wishes Afghanistan a Respite From War

This year’s Eid al-Adha comes at a time of escalating war and bloodshed, with horrendous violence across Afghanistan. Many have lost dear ones. Many have been injured. Many have been displaced. Many have seen their houses and shops on fire or destroyed. And the scars of this appalling war will remain for men, women and […]

21 Aug 2018 AAN Team • Context and Culture

Hitting Gardez: A vicious attack on Paktia’s Shias

Afghan Shia Muslims are feeling increasingly beleaguered after two massacres targeting their community this month. Both were claimed by the Afghan ‘franchise’ of Daesh, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP). On 3 August, gunmen killed at least 38 men and boys during Friday prayers at a village mosque in the outskirts of Gardez city. […]

18 Aug 2018 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

Official list of Afghanistan’s districts

Before Afghanistan’s (delayed) 2018 parliamentary elections, the country’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) have published a joint, consolidated list of Afghanistan’s 387 districts. The number had been controversial that far and had led to different figures used by different sources. (Some sources, for example, add the capitals of […]

16 Aug 2018 Afghan government documents

The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (12): Good news and bad news about district numbers

Afghan authorities have solved one of the most long-standing and consequential problems in the country‘s complex election system: the number of districts. It is 387. This is pending a final decision by parliament, as there are some so-called ‘temporary’ districts that could boost the number. If parliament takes this issue up, however, there is a […]

16 Aug 2018 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (11): Electoral reform and the preparations for the 2018 elections – a summary

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 October this year, three and a half years late. They were delayed so that the electoral system could be reformed – although what that delay achieved in terms of reforms, is questionable. The country’s first district elections are also still scheduled for the same day, although the Independent Election Commission […]

10 Aug 2018 Ali Yawar Adili • Political Landscape

Thematic Dossier XX: Electoral reform and the preparations for the 2018 elections

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for 20 October this year, three and a half years late. They were delayed so that the electoral system could be reformed – although what that delay achieved in terms of reforms, is questionable. The country’s first district elections are also still scheduled for the same day, although the Independent Election Commission […]

10 Aug 2018 AAN Team • Dossiers

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (10): Failure to hold the first ever district council elections?

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has proposed a delay in the district council elections, citing a lack of candidates. According to a report from the body, only a tenth of the country’s districts have enough male and female candidates to compete. The IEC listed several reasons as to why so few people wanted to stand: […]

7 Aug 2018 Ali Yawar Adili • Political Landscape

Qari Hekmat’s Island Overrun: Taleban defeat ‘ISKP’ in Jawzjan

 The Taleban have eliminated the self-proclaimed Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) group that had been holding an enclave of territory in the isolated districts of Qush Tepa and Darzab in Jawzjan province for the last three years. It was the only ISKP-aligned group with territorial control outside the east of Afghanistan. The group failed to […]

4 Aug 2018 Obaid Ali • War and Peace

“The Eid ceasefire helped our efforts well”: Helmand peace marchers keep up the pressure

Although the Eid ceasefires have been and gone, they have rekindled hopes across Afghanistan that peace is possible. Helmand’s peace movement is keeping up the pressure. It has staged sit-ins in front of embassies in Kabul and sent letters to countries participating in or supporting the war effort. The movement has also reached other parts […]

2 Aug 2018 Thomas Ruttig • Ali Mohammad Sabawoon • War and Peace

AAN’s Doris Buddenberg and Jelena Bjelica on opium in Afghanistan – July 2018. Episode: 2

Member of AAN’s advisory board and also, the Former Resident Representative of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Afghanistan Doris Buddenberg and AAN’s Jelena who also worked with the UNODC between 2010-14. Together they discuss the role on opium in Afghanistan.  

31 Jul 2018 AAN Guests • Podcasts

Less Rain and Snowfall in Afghanistan: High level of food assistance needed until early 2019

The Famine Early Warning System (FEWS) has reported that in 22 of Afghanistan’s provinces, cumulative rain and snowfall during the ‘wet season’ – October 2017 to May 2018 – was 30 to 60 per cent below average. The northwest of the country has been particularly hard hit. AAN’s Jelena Bjelica (with input from Obaid Ali […]

30 Jul 2018 Jelena Bjelica • Economy, Development, Environment

The Insecure Spring of Ghazni: Results of third-grade treatment by the centre?

Ghazni is one province where the Taleban have long-established significant influence. Actually, they dominate it militarily, with the exception of the provincial capital, all but one of the 18 district centres and some larger areas in three districts. Over the spring of 2018, the Taleban – although not capturing more territory –, have significantly expanded […]

25 Jul 2018 Ehsan Qaane • War and Peace