Search results

Land Grabs in Afghanistan (1): Nangrahar, the disputed o-rangeland

In the last ten years, land disputes have become a permanent feature of Afghanistan’s landscape. Always influenced by the misuse of state power, often bursting into open conflicts, sometimes getting into the limelight usually reserved for political violence, they are very seldom addressed properly by the government. Also highlighted by recent accusations by the High […]

16 Jun 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Economy, Development, Environment

Upcoming Regional Co-operation Conference on Afghanistan: A Primer

Regional co-operation on Afghanistan has so far remained by and large confined to meeting rooms and conference halls. One of these gatherings is set to take place in Kabul on 14 June 2012. The ‘Heart of Asia Ministerial Conference in Kabul’ is focused on ‘The Istanbul Process: A New Agenda for Regional Co-operation.’ The Afghan […]

13 Jun 2012 S Reza Kazemi • Regional Relations

Plants of Afghanistan 2: the Koh-e Baba Foraging Top Ten (amended)

Wild rhubarb (chukri or rawash) is surely one of the delights of the Afghan spring. Like many forage plants, rhubarb is both a delicacy in the cities, and an important food for those living in rural areas. As the winter snow melts, the rhubarb rhizome produces stems which can be plucked and eaten raw while […]

11 Jun 2012 Kate Clark • Context and Culture

Plants of Afghanistan 1: Centre of Global Biodiversity

Among the hundreds of containers bound for Afghanistan which were impounded for over a year at Karachi docks because of a trade dispute were copies of a ground-breaking book on Afghanistan’s plants. S W Breckle and M D Rafiqpoor’s Field Guide Afghanistan: Flora and Vegetation, (1) is unique, the result of decades of work by […]

10 Jun 2012 Kate Clark • Context and Culture

Good Muslims, Bad Muslims? Solidarity Party Threatened by Ban (amended)

A small but vocal leftist political party has challenged the consensus about the ‘good jehad’, pointing to human rights violations of some of its leaders, and earned the ire of them. After initial calls for an immediate ban, the authorities have suspended the party’s activities, pending an investigation. How they will handle this case will […]

8 Jun 2012 Thomas Ruttig • Political Landscape

Another Hezb-e Islami U-Turn – with more to follow? (amended)

When the second largest insurgent group, Hezb-e Islami (1), suspended talks with the Afghan government, three weeks ago, it cited dissatisfaction with the signing of the US-Afghan Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) on 1 May 2012. Kabul has now gone public, accusing Hezb-e Islami of telling it a different story immediately after the talks, which were […]

7 Jun 2012 Gran Hewad • Political Landscape

New Battles and Old Wants in Nuristan

The killing of the deputy shadow governor of the Taleban for Nuristan, apparently in a drone strike on his native village of Amshuz, Waygal district, represents just the last chapter in what has already been a rather intense fighting season in the province for two months. A perennial candidate for insurgent takeover, Nuristan witnessed some […]

2 Jun 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

Happy Christmas (2014), Will War Be Over?

The spin from Chicago is working. Many media reported that the war in Afghanistan will be over and Western troops gone by 2014. Apparently, they did not get President Obama’s full message that was much more subtle: that the war ‘as we know it’ will be over. It will change its character and the new […]

25 May 2012 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

The Other Guantanamo 2: the Afghan State begins Internment

Sources involved in the handover of Bagram detention facility from the United States to Afghanistan have told AAN that the Afghan state was due to start ruling on the internment of its own citizens there on 22 May 2012. The use of the US system of detention without trial by the Afghan government is probably […]

23 May 2012 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

The Mulla Dadullah Front: A search for clues

A Mulla Dadullah Front has claimed responsibility for assassinating the High Peace Council member, Mawlawi Arsala Rahmani, on 13 May. Some in the media, as well as the Afghan authorities have picked up on the claim – and some alleged members of the Front have been arrested. Although this is not actually the first sighting […]

22 May 2012 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

No Country for Good Policemen?

At the NATO summit in Chicago, everybody’s attention seems to be focused on the budget for the defence of Afghanistan and how much donors will spend after 2014, in other words on the quantity of security forces that the country will be able to field. But what about their quality? A new, excellent report on […]

21 May 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Rights and Freedoms

Transition and Peace Talks: Optimism and Confidence in Herat?

Transition of security and the possibility of a process of peace talks with the Taleban are a concern to most Afghans. According to reports, house prices are falling, investors are getting more careful and more and more people are contemplating to leave the country because of concerns that the situation may get worse. However, the […]

19 May 2012 Hamisha Bahar • Economy, Development, Environment

Guest blog: The question of succession

Along with the withdrawal of foreign troops, a crucial political transition is on the cards for Afghanistan in 2014. Hamid Karzai nears the end of his second term, the only two he is constitutionally allowed to serve. While rumours of Karzai playing with the constitution to allow himself a third term were rife months ago, […]

18 May 2012 Mujib Mashal • Political Landscape

Guest Blog: Inequality in Equality: Linguistic Convergence between Dari and Pashto

Language matters. The issue of how to ‘correctly’ name institutions is just one linguistic issue which has become highly politicised in post-Taleban Afghanistan. AAN guest blogger Lutz Rzehak(*) looks at these issues from the point of view of a linguist who speaks three of Afghanistan’s languages and has carried out research there for several decades. […]

17 May 2012 Lutz Rzehak • Context and Culture

Guest Blog: How to name Universities or: Any Linguistic Problem in Afghanistan?

Language matters. The issue of what the ‘correct’ naming of an institution is, is just one of the linguistic debates that have become highly politicised in post-Taleban Afghanistan. Our guest blogger, Lutz Rzehak(*), looks at these issues from the point of view of a linguist who speaks three of Afghanistan’s languages and has carried out […]

17 May 2012 Lutz Rzehak • Context and Culture

Transition Phase Three: A Big Leap Forward

A new phase of the security transition, the third, has been announced. Every Afghan province is now going to be involved, at least partly, in the transfer of security from ISAF troops to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). This is the case even in areas where foreign troops are no longer present or where […]

16 May 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • War and Peace

Beating a Retreat: Prospects for the Transition Process in Afghanistan

As NATO member states gather for their summit in Chicago this coming weekend to discuss the security transition in Afghanistan and the prospect for continued engagement, the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) has released a new report exploring the complexities surrounding NATO’s current transition strategy. In the report ‘Beating a Retreat; Prospects for the Transition Process in […]

16 May 2012 Barbara Stapleton • Special Reports

27 and 30 June 2012, Berlin: Two Afghanistan podiums with AAN

AAN’s Co-Director Thomas Ruttig will participate in two podiums on Afghanistan in Berlin this week, organised by the Berlin he Nahost-Forum and by the Afghanistan Committee for Peace, Reconstruction and Culture. On Wednesday, 27 June 2012, he will talk about ‘Afghanistan: The current situation and prospect for the future’ (in German) at the invitation of […]

15 May 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Afghanistan’s Fluctuating Poppy Production: More Than a Poverty Problem

Afghanistan’s area of poppy cultivation has increased by 7 per cent compared to the last year and more provinces cultivate poppy than then. This is the gist of annual opium survey for the country for 2012. There are no predictions about how many (thousands of) tons this will be. And the publishers – the UN […]

14 May 2012 Doris Buddenberg • Economy, Development, Environment

Another Hit at the High Peace Council: Arsala Rahmani Killed (amended)

One of the leading reconciled Taleban, Arsala Rahmani, who was also a senator and, until last month, acting head of the High Peace Council, has been shot dead in Kabul. On 3 May, the Taleban declared they would be targeting High Peace Council members in their ‘Spring Offensive’, but a spokesman has said they did […]

13 May 2012 Kate Clark • Political Landscape