Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

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Screenshot from a video of a ISKP training in Nangarhar published in 2015

Descent into chaos: Why did Nangarhar turn into an IS hub?

Armed groups pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) have tried to establish a foothold in five of Afghanistan’s provinces, but only in Nangarhar have they succeeded. There, IS Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghanistan-Pakistan franchise of the Islamic State, landed on fertile ground with a fragmented insurgency, bickering provincial elites, a tradition of Salafi networks […]

Borhan Osman War and Peace

Reburial of Habibullah II (Kalakani) on Shahr Ara Hill. Photo: Pajhwok.

Who Was King Habibullah II? A query from the literature

The recent reburial of King Habibullah II – aka Habibullah Kalakani aka derogatively Bacha-ye Saqao (The Water Carrier’s Son) – that stirred up controversy and violence was another reflection of Afghanistan’s increasingly ethnicised politics. Competing narratives about historical events and the legacy of historical figures reflect deeper, underlying societal and political cleavages, both between ethnic […]

Thomas Ruttig Context and Culture

"Unaware of Eid, Khaled knows only sweat and toil", titles Pajhwok about this 13-year old from Kunduz. Photo: Pajhwok.

AAN Wishes Peaceful and Happy Eid al-Adha Days

دافغانستان د تحلیلګرانو شبکه د نیکمرغه لوي اختر د رارسیدو له امله ټولي اسلامي نړۍ، په ځانګري توګه د افغانستان مسلمان ولس ته دزړه له کومي مبارکی وایي. هیله ده چي دلوي اختر له برکته په افغانستان کې سوله، ثبات او ورورولي ټینګه شي. زمو‌‌‌ږ ورستۍ مقاله د لوی اختر د نمانځنې په باره کې […]

AAN Team Context and Culture

Afghanistan’s National Unity Government Rift (1): Crisis averted (for now), back to appointing commissions

Just weeks before the upcoming donor conference in Brussels on 5 October 2016, the two leaders of Afghanistan’s National Unity Government (NUG) erupted into a fierce, public argument. Chief Executive Abdullah accused President Ghani of unilateralism and called him “unfit” for his office; the president hit back implying that the rival camp was merely trying […]

Ali Yawar Adili Lenny Linke Martine van Bijlert Political Landscape

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig at the Afghanistan Week 2016 – Oslo, Norway

The Afghanistan Week 2016 is a cooperation between the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). With the aim to bring Afghanistan to the top of the Norwegian agenda, bringing Afghan and international experts to Norway to inform and debate. When: 20th to 25th September, 2016. Where: Oslo, […]

admin Events

To Say It Like It Is: Norway’s evaluation of its part in the international intervention

Norway has published the first comprehensive evaluation of one country’s contribution to the international intervention in Afghanistan. The evaluation was conducted by a government-appointed commission led by Bjørn Tore Godal, a former foreign and defence minister. However, most commissioners were independent researchers. The ‘Godal report’, as it has become known, is a candid and sharp […]

Ann Wilkens International Engagement

Cover of detainee assessment report on Mohammad Kamin

Mohammad Kamin (ISN 1045) 13 years in detention

Mohammad Kamin (ISN 1045): Date of birth: 1978 Place of birth: Plasai Inzarkai village, Khost Detained 14 May 2003 (by unknown forces); transferred to Guantanamo 21 November 2003 Transferred to UAE 16 August 2016 Guantanamo Documents: Quotes from Gunatnamo documents (Assessment, Combatant Status Review Tribunal and Administrative Review Boards) can be read here. Capture Kamin, a […]

Kate Clark Human Rights

Cover of detainee assessment report on Obaidullah

Obaidullah (ISN762) 14 Years in Detention

Obaidullah (ISN762): Place of Birth: Dusarak Haiderkheil Village, Khost Year of Birth: 1980-1983 (different dates given) Detained by US forces in house raid, 21 July 2002 and held in Chapman Forward Operating Base, Khost; transferred to Bagram, 2 August 2002, transferred to Guantanamo, 28 October 2002 Transferred to UAE, 16 October 2016 (Periodic Review Board) […]

Kate Clark Human Rights

Cover of detainee assessment report on Hamidullah

Hamidullah (ISN 1119) 13 years in detention

Hamidullah (ISN 1119): Date of birth: 1963 Place of birth: Tara Khel village, Deh Sabz, Kabul Detained 31 July 2003 by Afghan National Army which handed him over to the “National Directorate of Security (NDS) and US forces (undated); transferred to Guantanamo 21 November 2003 Transferred to UAE 14 August 2016 after Periodic Review Board […]

Kate Clark Human Rights

Far From Back to Normal: The Kunduz crisis lingers on

The Taleban’s recent takeover of both Qala-ye Zal and Dasht-e Archi’s district centres is the latest episode in the long-running battle for possession of Kunduz province. It follows the spectacular takeover of Kunduz’s provincial centre by insurgents in late September 2015, the hard-won recapture by pro-government forces two weeks later and the government’s unsuccessful counter-offensive […]

Lola Cecchinel War and Peace