Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Thomas Ruttig

Trump administration is right not to normalize relations with the Taliban

Washington Examiner, 4 April 2025 Here an extremely short quote of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, taken from a January 2025 article published at VoA: that the Doha Agreement is “still considered valid.” It was, at least by the Taleban, at that point. In late February 2025, though, on the fifth anniversary of the agreement, Taleban spokesman made […]

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Report: Afghanistan Can’t Fight Climate Change Alone

Tolo News, 3 April 2025 The Afghan news platform reports – via a Japanese research institute – about AAN’s latest environment-related report, authored by Assem Mayar, “The Economic Consequences of Climate Change for Afghanistan: Losses, projections … and pathways to mitigation.”

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Beziehungen zwischen USA und Afghanistan: Beginn eines Tauwetters

Tageszeitung, 31 March 2025 In this analysis of a ‘thawing in the making’, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig looks at recent developments in US-Taleban relations: the first Afghanistan visit of an US government official since August 2021, the release/exchange of detainees, Trump’s wishes to have a military presence in Bagram again and his aspirations to retrieve US […]

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Fatima Amiri, the Afghan woman who cannot study because of the Taliban in Afghanistan and because of the bureaucracy in Spain.

ara.cat, 25 March 2025 Portrait, in English, of a young Afghan woman trying to persue her studied abroad. But in Spain, as in many other countries, “despite expressions of solidarity with Afghan women, there are no mechanisms for them to continue their studies here” writes colleague Mònica Bernabé who also has written for AAN in […]

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Third update on Taliban decrees and directives (July-Dec. 2024)

ACAPS, 24 December 2024 As USIP’s “Tracking the Taliban’s (Mis)Treatment of Women” overview seems to have been taken down by the new US administration (please try yourself – we do not get access), this seems to be the most recent overview of humanitarian response-, women’s rights-related and other Taleban decrees. It says in its summary: […]

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بلخ در سکوت نوروز [Balkh in the Silence of Nowruz]

Hasht-e Sobh, 19 March 2025 It is Nowruz in two days -but “residents from Balkh province told Hasht-e Sobh say that no one dares to talk about Nowruz. One resident is quoted as saying: “No one can celebrate in the streets without fear of punishment. … We may not be able to celebrate outside and […]

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The stain of betrayal in Afghanistan is now on Republican hands

By George Packer The Atlantic, 17 March 2025 Smashing article by Pulitzer price winner George Packer: Later this week, the Trump administration may impose travel restrictions on citizens from dozens of countries, supposedly because of security concerns. According to early reports, one of the countries on the “red” list, from which all travel would be banned, […]

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Interior ministry outlines regulations for Afghan nationals staying in Iran

Iran Front Page, 9 March 2025 The Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Interior has outlined six which categories ofAfghan nationals that are permitted to remain in Iran under specific conditions. Those with census registration documents can remain in the country; also former government officials, military personnel, or civil servants from […]

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حکومت آینده آلمان برنامه پذیرش برای افغان‌ها را متوقف می‌کند [Germany’s future government to suspend admission program for Afghans]

Deutsche Welle, 9 March 2025 Lengthy interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Dari/Farsi service of Germany’s foreign public broadcaster about the incoming German government’s plans to suspend all evacuation programmes for its former Afghan employees and the so-called human rights list (Germany-related NGO employees).

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Auf Trumps Speiseplan: Der Militärstützpunkt Bagram

nd, 6 March 2025 In this online article (“On Trump’s [geopolitical] menu: Bagram military base”) for the Berlin-based German daily newspaper, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig describes the context of President Trump’s announcements to regain access to the US’s erstwhile largest military base in Afghanistan, Bagram, and of his demand that the Taleban hand back weapons delivered […]

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داستان دختران پشت پنجره در پاناما چیست؟ [What is the story of the (Afghan) girls behind the window in Panama?]

BBC Farsi, 1 March 2025 An young Afghan women, travelling alone, has been among the first deported from the US under Trump’s migration policy to Panama and, unable to communicate with the outside world written a message that was photographed by reported. For those not able to read farsi/Dari, here a quick English translation: On […]

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Afghanistan Climate Vulnerability Assessment

IOM, February 2025 The Afghanistan Climate Vulnerability Assessment (ACVA) is the first nationwide study to comprehensively assess climate vulnerability in every village across Afghanistan, using detailed data collected by IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Key findings include: 

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