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Students Oppose Re-naming University after Slain Ex-President

It is now a week since students at the University of Education began protesting over President Karzai’s decision to change its name to the Ustad (Professor) Burhanuddin Rabbani University. On Saturday, they managed to block MPs – and one of AAN’s researchers – from getting into parliament. The students have been cautiously – and rather […]

30 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

27 September 2012: AAN’s Gran Hewad speaks at Peace Day celebration

On 27 September, UNAMA organized a conference celebrating International Peace Day. AAN’s Gran Hewad was invited to speak at the event representing Afghan youth. For more information about the event, please click here.

27 Sep 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Right Livelihood Award for Sima Samar

Dr Sima Samar, chair of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has won this year’s Right Livelihood Award – along with a British anti-arms campaigning group, a Turkish environmental campaigner and a veteran American thinker and activist for non-violent resistance. The jury said they awarded Samar what is often called the alternative Nobel peace […]

27 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • Economy, Development, Environment

Ambiguity Reiterated: The 20-parties ‘Democracy Charter’

Most of Afghanistan’s major political parties have put their differences on many issues aside and made a rare joint statement. In their ‘Democracy Charter’, they demand that the 2014 presidential elections are held on time and according to the constitution. They also call for a stronger role for political parties in making decisions about major […]

26 Sep 2012 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Insurgents and Factions: Waves of insecurity rising in Faryab

Faryab province has turned, in the past few years, into an area of serious concern in Northern Afghanistan. Tensions between different factions still run high. The Jowzjan-Faryab highway faces a dire lack of security, and, except for a few areas, police only appear on it during daylight. The establishment of Afghan Local Police (ALP) units […]

21 Sep 2012 Obaid Ali • War and Peace

The Haqqani Network Blacklisted: From US Asset to Special Foe

Earlier this month, the US government blacklisted the Haqqani network, labelling it a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’. Leaving aside the pros and cons of this decision, which have been fairly widely discussed, AAN co-director Thomas Ruttig looks at other questions: why did the blacklisting happen so late and why is the network singled out from the […]

20 Sep 2012 Thomas Ruttig • International Engagement

Das Scheitern der Luftlande-Demokratie in Afghanistan: Die Bonner Vereinbarungen von 2001 und die versandete Demokratisierung am Hindukusch – ein Blick von innen

Thomas Ruttig, in: Marléne Neumann, Michael Schied and Diethelm Weidemann (eds), Afghanistan: Probleme, Konflikte, Perspektiven, Studien zur Geschichte und Gegenwart Asiens, vol. 3, Berlin: trafo Wissenschaftsverlag, pp 41-52. Full pdf of German article “Das Scheitern der Luftlande-Demokratie in Afghanistan: Die Bonner Vereinbarungen von 2001 und die versandete Demokratisierung am Hindukusch – ein Blick von innen” […]

20 Sep 2012 Thomas Ruttig • External publications

Bagram and Insider Attacks: ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ no longer?

It has been a rough week for US-led international forces, with threats, tensions and setbacks multiplying. The Taleban’s spectacular attack on Camp Bastion on 15 September, which left two soldiers – including a lieutenant colonel – dead, six fighter planes destroyed and two others damaged and ISAF’s narrative of a weakening insurgency looking fragile, was […]

19 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • International Engagement

Under Strange Flags: Afghans’ delayed protests against an ‘anti-Islam film’

Afghanistan’s public has reacted, after a few days of delay, to a video produced by fringe anti-Islam activists in the US. While last Friday saw violent demonstrations in many parts of the Muslim world, Afghans widely remained quite calm despite mullahs across major cities preaching angry sermons about the hostility of America or the West, […]

17 Sep 2012 Borhan Osman • Context and Culture

Shelling at the Durand Line: Popular outrage building up

For the second year in a row, Pakistan is shelling Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, especially Kunar. The issue has recently become politically explosive, with calls for an army of volunteers to man the border and two key ministers being dismissed (on 4 August) over their failure to stop the shelling. Ordinary Afghans expect their government to […]

16 Sep 2012 Gran Hewad • Regional Relations

Filling the Power Ministries (3): Three Security Bosses Voted In

Today, after an indecisive week, the Wolesi Jirga smoothly voted its confidence for three out of four candidates previously introduced for the ministry posts. The morning mood inside the house left few doubts as to an eventual positive outcome; the protesters were few and mostly went unheeded. Even the only exception, the failure of Haji […]

15 Sep 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

Filling the Power Ministries (2): (No) News Flash

In an attempt to keep informing our readers about the key issue of the expected cabinet reshuffle, we had to invent a new category today: the No News Flash. The reason: the parliament’s lower house postponed the decision to Saturday, for the time being, and busied itself with statistics instead. AAN Researcher Obaid Ali, Senior […]

13 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

September 2012: German anthology on Afghanistan with AAN contribution published

Under the title ‘Das Scheitern der Luftlande-Demokratie in Afghanistan: Die Bonner Vereinbarungen von 2001 und die versandete Demokratisierung am Hindukusch – ein Blick von innen’, Thomas Ruttig’s contribution to the recently published AAN E-Book ‘Snapshots of an Intervention. The Unlearned Lessons of Afghanistan’s Decade of Assistance (2001–11)’ now is available also in German. It is […]

12 Sep 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Filling the Power Ministries: Biographies of the four candidates

Parliament was about to start scrutinising President Karzai’s nominations for three of the most powerful positions in government, plus one less significant ministry yesterday (Tuesday). But the nominees did not make into the Wolesi Jirga because the MPs demanded that they must be accompanied by either the President or one of his deputies in person.(1) […]

12 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

The ‘Other Guantanamo’ (3): Bagram and the Struggle for Sovereignty

Bagram Detention Centre has been officially transferred to Afghan control today, with the fundamental question of sovereignty – who has the right to arrest and detain Afghans on Afghan soil – still not resolved. The US insists it still has the right; the government says this is illegal. On Saturday (8 September 2012), President Karzai, […]

10 Sep 2012 Kate Clark • Political Landscape

AAN Reportage (2): The Andar Uprising – Has the Tide Already Turned?

In the spring of 2012, the Taleban lost control of substantial parts of one of their strongholds, Andar district in Ghazni. The government and national and international media called it a popular uprising. In Part 1 of AAN’s special reportage on the events of Andar, guest blogger and local journalist, Emal Habib(*) questioned this narrative. […]

3 Sep 2012 Emal Habib • War and Peace

AAN political parties paper series 2: Rise and Decline of Maoism

With two new reports – ‘Ideology without Leadership: The rise and decline of Maoism in Afghanistan’ by Niamatullah Ibrahimi and ‘Reforming Jombesh: An Afghan Party on Its Winding Road to Internal Democracy’ by Robert Peszkowski – AAN has launched a new series of papers that look at the development of political parties and movements in […]

31 Aug 2012 Niamatullah Ibrahimi • Robert Peszkowski • Special Reports

Start of AAN political parties paper series 1: Reforming Jombesh

With two new reports – ‘Reforming Jombesh: An Afghan Party on Its Winding Road to Internal Democracy’ by Robert Peszkowski and ‘Ideology without Leadership: The rise and decline of Maoism in Afghanistan’ by Niamatullah Ibrahimi – AAN has launched a new series of papers that look at the development of political parties and movements in […]

31 Aug 2012 Niamatullah Ibrahimi • Robert Peszkowski • Special Reports

A Pathan Moustache Hair’s Worth: Afghans in Bollywood, Bollywood in Afghanistan

Hardy, hungry Afghan highlanders have for centuries looked beyond the Khyber Pass in search of…movies. And, be it clever marketing, be it spontaneous fascination, Bollywood cinema has also been keen on portraying Afghans throughout its different eras. Fabrizio Foschini has been looking at the outcome of this colourful cultural encounter, helped by the fact that […]

28 Aug 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Context and Culture

Back to Qatar? Talks about talks, again

This summer has brought news that indicated that talks between the US and the Taleban (or even the Afghan government and the Taleban) might possibly be rekindled. It all started rather sensationally with a member of the Taleban leadership publicly attending an (academic) conference, moving on to speculations about Pakistan allowing Kabul access to an […]

27 Aug 2012 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace