Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Reports

Reports – previously known as dispatches – are the flagship of the AAN website and our main type of publication. AAN reports are based on extensive desk and field research and provide timely and in-depth information and analysis.

On 10 May 2016, the care takers for the positions of the head of NDS (Stanakzai, centre) and the Minister of Defense (Abdullah Khan, left) were introduced by CEO Dr Abdullah, they are still awaiting the vote of confidence by the parliament. (Source: Tolonews)

Old Names for the NDS and Defence Ministry: NUG proposes Stanakzai and Abdullah Khan, again.

Thomas Ruttig •

The National Unity Government (NUG) has finally moved to fill the last two vacant key posts in the national cabinet, those of defence minister and head of the intelligence agency. In the climate of mistrust between its two camps, it was not easy to identify mutually acceptable candidates – and, so, the names are neither […]

Political Landscape Read more
Six convicts sentenced to death were executed by hanging in Pol-e Charkhi prison in Kabul on the morning of 8 May 2016. (Photo Source: Tolonews)

Afghanistan’s Latest Executions: Responding to calls for capital punishment

Ehsan Qaane • Jelena Bjelica •

On the president’s order, six convicts sentenced to death were executed by hanging in Pol-e Charkhi prison on the morning of 8 May 2016. The executions came after the president’s speech at the joint session of both houses of Parliament on 25 April 2016, in which he announced that the time for unjustified amnesty was […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Deciding To Leave Afghanistan (1): Motives for migration

Lenny Linke •

AAN has done a series of twelve in-depth interviews with families of Afghans who recently travelled to Europe. The conversations provided a fascinating insight into the practicalities of both the decision making processes and the journey, the complex interplay between economic and security considerations and the mixed feelings families often have once their loved ones […]

Migration Read more
The RTA building in Kabul (Photo Source: Report by DSWCI)

“No Microphone for the President”: Can Radio Television Afghanistan still become a public service broadcaster?

Jelena Bjelica •

Turning government-run Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) into a public service broadcaster, a symbol of a democratic state, has been on the agenda of both donors and the Afghan government since 2002. However, only small, cosmetic changes have so far been made. As a result, many argue that this goal is no longer realistic. The overstaffed, […]

Context and Culture Read more

Ghani’s Speech to the Parliament: A hardening position on war, peace and Pakistan

Martine van Bijlert •

President Ghani’s speech to the Afghan parliament, in an extraordinary joint session on 25 April 2016, was unprecedented. Made in response to demands that he clarify the government’s security policies, the televised speech was sober and dignified, and detailed the government’s hardening stance against Pakistan, the Haqqani network, Daesh and “parts of the Taleban.” Although, […]

War and Peace Read more

Kabul Duck Alert 2: Pictures of birds and birdwatchers at the Kol-e Hashmat Khan wetland

Kate Clark •

The springtime migration of birds over Afghanistan is in full swing. The Kol-e Hashmat Khan wetland in south Kabul is an internationally important site for tired waterbirds to stop and rest, and build up their strength. Soon, they’ll be heading north again, crossing the Hindu Kush mountains to reach their summer breeding grounds in Central […]

Context and Culture Read more
How Kol-e Hashmat Khan looks to migrating water birds: a haven amid city and mountains (Photo Source: Andrew Scanlon/UNEP)

Kabul Duck Alert: Afghan capital still important stopover for migrating waterbirds

Kate Clark •

It is springtime which means birds in great numbers are migrating northwards over Afghanistan. The wetland in the south-east of Kabul city, Kol-e Hashmat Khan, is an internationally important place for water birds to rest and recuperate before taking back to the air and resuming their flight over some of the world’s highest mountain ranges. […]

Context and Culture Read more
Security forces cordoned off the area along the bank of the Kabul River immediately after the attack allowing only ambulances to pass through the barriers. (Photo Source: Tolo News 19 April 2016)

A Shaken City: On the Taleban‘s truck-bomb attack in Kabul

Martine van Bijlert •

The explosion which shook Kabul on 19 April 2016 was so large  its reverberation could be felt throughout almost the entire city. All that day, and the next, the death toll continued to rise. Official figures currently stand at 68 killed and 347 injured, but the real numbers are likely to be higher. The scale of the […]

War and Peace Read more

Under the Mountain: A pre-emptive Taleban spring offensive in Shindand

Fabrizio Foschini •

Throughout March 2016, Shindand district in Herat province witnessed heavy fighting. Clashes between two rival insurgent groups were followed by a string of ANSF military operations. With substantial help from Quetta, the local pro-Mansur Taleban group has swept away a pro-Rasul outfit that had recently proved less aggressive towards the government. This new outbreak of […]

War and Peace Read more
Map showing the distribution of attacks on schools across Afghanistan from the new UN report "Education and Healthcare at risk: Key trends and incidents affecting children’s access to healthcare and education in Afghanistan”, released on 18 April 2016

Education and Health Care at Risk: UN report paints grim picture of post-transition Afghanistan

AAN Team •

A new UN report highlights how access to healthcare and education in Afghanistan, particularly for children, is being increasingly compromised by violence, threats, intimidation and abuse of facilities. The number of verified incidents over the last three years (2013-2015) in particular shows an increase in recorded incidents of threats and intimidation, as well as a continued […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more
Screenshot of the Taleban's spring offensive announcement 2016 on their English language website

Operation Omari: Taleban Announced 2016 Spring Offensive

AAN Team • Borhan Osman •

The Taleban made their yearly spring offensive announcement on 12 April 2016. The statement attributed to Taleban leadership council (Rahbari Shura) named the offensive “Operation Omari,” in honour of the movement’s late leader and provides clues with regard to both the Taleban’s plans and the way they wish to present themselves. Of particular note are the […]

War and Peace Read more
One of those killed while out electioneering in Takhar province in 2010: Atiqullah Rahman, a school student, was the brother of Habib Rahman who made a request for a judicial review to look into the UK’s alleged role in targeted killings in Afghanistan (permission given to AAN by the family to reproduce the image).

Were British Police Involved in Targeted Killings? New report presents fresh evidence

Kate Clark •

The allegation that a British civilian policing body, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), helped draw up lists of Afghans for targeted killings in ISAF’s ‘kill or capture’ strategy in Afghanistan has re-surfaced. Two years ago, SOCA denied to a London court that it had supplied such intelligence for targeted killings in a case brought […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

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