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AAN Podcasts: Martine van Bijlert talks Kabul Bank

Regular visitors to the AAN website will have noticed that we have added an additional channel to our publications: podcasts. Although we already posted some podcasts earlier on (visit the archive here), you will be able to literally hear from us more regularly, from now on. We start our new podcast series with a comment […]

22 Dec 2014 Thomas Ruttig • Economy, Development, Environment

AAN’s Martine van Bijlert on the new probe into Kabul Bank scandal

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reopened the inquiry into the Kabul Bank fraud scandal, AAN’s Martine van Bijlert explains the case.

22 Dec 2014 Martine van Bijlert • Podcasts

Thematic Dossier VII: Detentions in Afghanistan – Bagram, Transfer and Torture

One of the most controversial aspects of the 2001 intervention has ended: the United States’ detention on Afghan soil of men accused of involvement in the insurgency. At its peak, the US military detention facility on Bagram airbase held more than 3000 detainees. In the early years, there had also been a number of CIA […]

20 Dec 2014 Kate Clark • Dossiers

The Empty Streets of Mohammad Agha: Logar’s struggle against the Taleban

Logar province has become a dangerous place to live for many residents. The number of violent incidents and assassinations of locals committed by Taleban has increased starkly. AAN’s Obaid Ali describes how the Taleban intimidate and exploit the people of this province just south of Kabul and how they challenge local security forces, especially the […]

15 Dec 2014 Obaid Ali • War and Peace

The ‘Other Guantanamo’ 12: Bagram closes, CIA torture revealed, US to be held to account?

As grotesque revelations in a Senate report on the CIA’s torture of ‘war on terror’ detainees are being mulled over, it has been announced that the last three remaining detainees in United States custody in Afghanistan have been transferred out of American hands. The Bagram detention facility is finally, after 13 years, closed. As AAN’s […]

12 Dec 2014 Kate Clark • International Engagement

Presidential decree on the NUG’s Chief Executive Officer

(AAN working translation) No 35 22/09/1393 [11 December 2014] Decree President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Concerning the Establishment of the Council of Ministers, the Responsibilities and Authorities of the Chief Executive Officer of the National Unity Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Pursuant to articles 5, 50, and 142 of the Constitution, and […]

11 Dec 2014 Afghan government documents

The National Unity Government’s Elusive Cabinet

On day seventy-two of Afghanistan’s national unity government, the new cabinet still looks to be weeks away, with the country’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) locked in protracted discussions over who to appoint and how that should be decided. The composition of the cabinet will be a first, crucial test of what Afghanistan’s new […]

9 Dec 2014 Martine van Bijlert • Political Landscape

Bird Bomber: Police kill ‘dangerous’ houbara bustard (amended)

Police in Faryab have shot a wild bird which had an antenna attached to it, fearing it had been sent by the Taleban to target them. They said it exploded, scattering suspicious bits of metal. However, the bits of metal included an ID tag with a telephone number and email address and claims of it […]

5 Dec 2014 Kate Clark • Context and Culture

Communiqué: The London Conference on Afghanistan – 4 December 2014

Afghanistan and International Community: Commitments to Reforms and Renewed Partnership Copy of the communiqué can be found here.  

4 Dec 2014 admin • International documents on Afghanistan

Joint statement by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, NATO and Resolute Support operational partners – 2 December 2014

The original statement can be found here. The copy of the statement can be found here.

2 Dec 2014 admin • International documents on Afghanistan

Between Rhetoric and Reality: Access to health care and its limitations

While the world’s attention is focused on the withdrawal of international forces and the security handover, people in Afghanistan continue to die because they do not have access to adequate healthcare. The health system is frequently held up as a glowing example of the aid efforts of the international community, and since 2002 much progress […]

2 Dec 2014 Frank Dorner • Lena Langbein • Economy, Development, Environment

Return of the Goodwill? London conference as symbol of a new start

Initially, the upcoming London Conference on Afghanistan (3 and 4 December) was supposed to be a hard check on the Afghan leadership’s governance standards. Corruption, women’s rights, elections – how did the country do, and would it deserve fresh aid commitments? However, the new government to discuss these things is, except for president and CEO, […]

1 Dec 2014 Christine Roehrs • Economy, Development, Environment

Thematic Dossier VI: Women, Rights and Politics

Women’s rights have been high up on the agenda of the international community since the start of its intervention more than 13 years ago. How successful has it been? Where do Afghan women stand in 2014 – and where will they be in just a few years time? Observers, national and international, are worried that […]

30 Nov 2014 AAN Team • Dossiers

Shame and Impunity: Is violence against women becoming more brutal?

A father raping his daughter over almost ten years without the family daring to intervene (except to help with abortions); a woman burnt after a family fight; another woman mutilated because her husband enjoyed doing so – these are just some of the cases of violence against women and girls that have been reported in […]

30 Nov 2014 Wazhma Samandary • Rights and Freedoms

The ‘Other Guantanamo’ (11): More transfers, a court’s scrutiny and possible redress

The United States military spokesman has confirmed to AAN that another detainee has left the detention facility on Bagram Airbase, a ‘German-Moroccan’, Muhammad Abdullawi. A Russian detainee, named by the US military as Irek Hamidullan, has also been flown out – to the US to appear in a federal court on terrorism charges; the first […]

28 Nov 2014 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Wolesi Jirga Resolutely in Favour of NATO Support: BSA and SOFA take next hurdle

The Wolesi Jirga today (23 November 2014) approved the long-delayed bilateral security agreement (BSA) with the United States and the Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) with NATO. Although the Afghan Senate’s approval is still pending, this vote opens the door for the start of the ISAF-successor Mission Resolute Support. AAN senior analyst Thomas Ruttig and […]

24 Nov 2014 Thomas Ruttig • Wazhma Samandary • International Engagement

One Thousand Dollars for Books per Year: Afghanistan’s undersupplied universities

Afghan university students still do not have proper textbooks. Their professors give them so-called ‘chapters’ – copies of excerpts from lecture notes or books that are often out-dated. Libraries on the other hand remain underfunded dumping grounds for donated books that mostly do not fit needs, curricula or lecture contents. Why is that still so, […]

23 Nov 2014 Christine Roehrs • Economy, Development, Environment

Cult, Culture and the Need for Public Education: Why the National Museum in Kabul has little meaning for Afghans

The National Museum has been a powerful symbol in the portrayal of Afghanistan’s recovery since 2002 and focus of intense international attention. However, the ‘narrative of loss’ that runs through portrayals of the museum’s recent history tends to displace serious discussion as to its role as an institution in today’s Afghanistan. After more than a […]

21 Nov 2014 Jolyon Leslie • Context and Culture

Agreement on Strategic Partnership between the Kingdom of Norway and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

The copy of the agreement can be found here.

20 Nov 2014 admin • International documents on Afghanistan

Chequers Summit Joint Statement – 4 February 2013

In the third trilateral meeting Prime Minister and leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan note significant progress since September 2012. The joint statement can be found here.  

20 Nov 2014 admin • International documents on Afghanistan