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Merry Christmas!

Here at AAN, we’d like to wish all our readers a Happy Christmas! May your holidays, in Afghanistan as well as abroad, be peaceful.   For those who remain in Kabul and wish to celebrate in style, AAN made a trip to Flower Street in Shar-e Naw to check on the availability of Christmas glitter and […]

24 Dec 2013 AAN Team • Context and Culture

Not a Promising Start: The vetting of the presidential and provincial council candidates

Buried in a pre-election assessment report by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are concerns about the transparency with which presidential and provincial council candidates have been vetted. Peter Manikas, NDI’s Asia director, said at a press conference earlier this month that they were concerned that “a number of people who should have been eligible candidates […]

22 Dec 2013 Gran Hewad • Kate Clark • Political Landscape

Autumn Pastimes, or the Other Fighting Grounds of Afghanistan

Bird fighting has an ancient history as a common autumn pastime among Afghans. As soon as the weather gets colder, various tournaments take place among bird enthusiasts, either in the open air or in a warm arena, depending on what sort of birds are fighting. In Kabul, the favourite birds to take the field are […]

19 Dec 2013 Obaid Ali • Context and Culture

A Lost Opportunity? Hindus and Sikhs do not get a reserved seat in parliament

On 14 December 2013, the Wolesi Jirga (WJ), the lower house of the Afghan parliament, rejected the presidential decree adding a reserved seat among its ranks for the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The debate showed a divided house, but the vote rewarded those pitted against this facilitation for the tiny minority. However, the tone and arguments used […]

16 Dec 2013 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

The Incident at Coordinate 42S VF 8934 5219: German court rejects claim from Kunduz air strike victims

A district court in the former West German capital Bonn has rejected a case in connection with a lethal airstrike ordered by the commander of the German PRT in Kunduz province four years ago. Families of some of the dozens of victims and a German lawyer of Afghan origin had wanted to sue the German […]

15 Dec 2013 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

Candidates on Camera: Interviewing the next president of Afghanistan

Although campaigning for the presidential elections does not officially start until February 2014, the media has started interviewing the eleven candidates. This is a time for journalists to find out their plans and try to elicit specific promises on what they will or will not do should they become president. Most candidates have pasts to […]

12 Dec 2013 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

A ‘Jihad on the Media’? Afghan journalists face the storm in insecure legal waters

Since the beginning of this year, pressure on the Afghan media has been increasing. It is coming from two fronts: politicians and officials who claim that any critical reporting of them (or people of their ‘class’) is “defamation” and a “disruption of the social order”, and from Islamic scholars and MPs who are repeatedly using heated rhetoric […]

9 Dec 2013 Wazhma Samandary • Rights and Freedoms

Meeting Mullah Baradar… or Maybe Not: Confusion over Taleban Talks

Yet again there is the impression of something being afoot on the matter of talks with the Taleban, at least as far as Afghan government aspirations go. During the visit of Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to Kabul on 30 November 2013, both leaders had nice words to say about the peace process, with Sharif […]

3 Dec 2013 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Discussing ‘The Social Wandering’ of the Afghan Kuchis

A new report by AAN, ‘The Social Wandering of the Afghan Kuchis,’ explores both the transformations that Afghan nomads have undergone in recent decades and their current, changing position in Afghan society. Decades of insecurity, drought and economic competition have led an increasing number of Kuchis to settle close to urban centers. There, they have […]

28 Nov 2013 Fabrizio Foschini • Context and Culture

The Social Wandering of the Afghan Kuchis: Changing patterns, perceptions and politics of an Afghan community

The latest AAN report, ‘The Social Wandering of the Afghan Kuchis: changing patterns, perceptions and politics of an Afghan community,’ by Fabrizio Foschini, explores the major impact of changing social, economic and political conditions on the Kuchi community over recent years and its consequences for their position in Afghan society. Afghan nomads have always aroused […]

28 Nov 2013 Fabrizio Foschini • Special Reports

29 November 2013, Brussels: AAN’s Sari Kouvo at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the EU

Sari Kouvo, Co-director and Co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) will be speaking about the political and security situation developing inside Afghanistan over the next few years and its regional implications. She will also discuss the current state of governance in Afghanistan at the seminar on Central Asia: Life after ISAF – regional dynamic and political and security […]

28 Nov 2013 Sudhansu Verma • Events

28 November 2013, University of Bologna: AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini will present AAN’s latest thematic report on nomadic communities in Afghanistan

Fabrizio Foschini of Afghanistan Analysts Network will be presenting AAN’s lates thematic report “The Social Wandering of the Afghan Kuchis Changing patterns, perception and politics of an Afghan community” at the University of Bologna on Thursday 28 November, 4pm. More information can be found here

28 Nov 2013 Sudhansu Verma • Events

Afghanistan, the United States and the BSA: Who blinks first?

Since the consultative loya jirga that ended in confusion on Sunday (27 November 2013), United States’ and Afghan positions on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) have hardened. President Karzai has added to the conditions he says must be met before he will sign the BSA, while President Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, has said […]

27 Nov 2013 Kate Clark • War and Peace

A Yes, a Maybe and a Threat of Migration: The BSA loya jirga’s last day

Whoever expected clarity and a swift signing of the US-Afghan Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) following the consultative loya jirga will be disappointed. The heads of the 50 committees duly reported back on this final day with a unanimity of views which strongly suggested prior coordination; all supported and almost all urged President Karzai to sign […]

24 Nov 2013 Kate Clark • War and Peace

Shocks in a Lacklustre Speech: President Karzai addresses the jirga

The consultative loya jirga, convened to scrutinise the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States, has begun with a draft that was only agreed at the very last minute, confusion over the exact status and proceedings of the gathering and a lacklustre speech by President Karzai. The president made little attempt to really sell the […]

21 Nov 2013 Christine Roehrs • Kate Clark • Obaid Ali • War and Peace

The Nation’s Voice? Afghanistan’s loya jirgas in the historical context

On 21 November, another loya jirga (grand assembly) is forthcoming in Afghanistan, convened to represent ‘the nation’s voice’ about the still pending Afghan-US Bilateral Partnership Agreement (BSA), the basis for any post-2014 NATO mission in the country. This will be the fifth such assembly under the Karzai government. On this occasion, our guest author Benjamin Buchholz […]

19 Nov 2013 Benjamin Buchholz • Context and Culture

The First Inklings of the Bilateral Security Agreement: Spanta briefs the Afghan parliament

Both Afghan and United States officials have, until now, been tight-lipped as to what is in the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) – which is to be scrutinised by a consultative loya jirga beginning on 21 November. If signed, it will govern the post-2014 deployment of US soldiers in Afghanistan. On Saturday, 16 November 2013, the […]

18 Nov 2013 Kate Clark • War and Peace

The Nerkh Killings: The problem with ‘immunity’ for US soldiers

Revelations concerning the alleged involvement of US soldiers in the forced disappearance, murder and torture of Afghans in the Nerkh district of Wardak a year ago keep surfacing. The US insists its forces come only under US legal jurisdiction, that they are ‘immune’ from Afghan courts and that it will investigate any wrongdoing by its […]

14 Nov 2013 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Local Afghan Power Structures and the International Military Intervention

The latest AAN report “Local Afghan Power Structures and the International Military Intervention” looks at how the presence of German and other international military in Kunduz and Badakhshan impacted local power structures. The two provinces serve as case studies to help answer the question if ISAF forces have been successful in supporting the central government to extend […]

12 Nov 2013 Philipp Münch • Special Reports

Reluctant Interventionists: ISAF’s influence on local power structures in Kunduz and Badakhshan

The latest AAN report, ‘Local Afghan Power Structures and the International Military Intervention,’ examines how the presence of German and other international military forces has impacted local power structures in Kunduz and Badakhshan. Author Philipp Münch presents these two provinces in Afghanistan’s northeast as detailed case studies, helping to answer the critical question as to […]

12 Nov 2013 Deedee Derksen • Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement