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.

Innocent, guilty – useful? What’s behind the US-Afghan clash over 88 prisoners from Bagram

AAN Guests • AAN Team •

The Afghan government announced yesterday (7 January) that it would go ahead with the release of 88 Taleban prisoners from Bagram despite US objections. American politicians, including two senior US senators who visited Kabul in early January, have warned of further damage to US-Afghan bilateral relations if the prisoner release goes forward. The issue has […]

War and Peace Read more

Armed, disarmed, rearmed: How Nahr-e Seraj in Helmand became one of the deadliest districts in Afghanistan

Deedee Derksen •

On a visit to Helmand in mid-December, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stated that when British troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year, they will have accomplished their main aim – leaving behind a basic level of security. But a new report by the Pentagon (1) tells a different story. On its […]

War and Peace Read more

From Alexander the Great to Ahmad Shah Massud: A social history of the pakol

Fabrizio Foschini •

The flat, woollen, rolled-up hat called a pakol is nowadays one of the undisputed symbols of Afghanistan. But how such a humble garment, stemming from the remotest corners of the Hindu Kush mountains, made it to international appreciation on par with lavish silky chapans and majestic four-meter-long lungis, remains somewhat of a mystery. AAN’s Fabrizio […]

Context and Culture Read more

A happy and peaceful new year!

AAN Team •

Dear readers, here at AAN, we would like to wish you a happy new year. For Afghanistan, 2014 is a year of many expectations but also anxieties. May it be a year of successful transition, harmonious cooperation and real peace negotiations. We will be here to accompany you. The AAN team

Context and Culture Read more

Some Things Got Better – How Much Got Good? A review of 12 years of international intervention in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

2013 marked the year in which the international community started to wrap up many of the initiatives to re-build Afghanistan – arguably the biggest international effort since the post-Word-War-II Marshal Plan. But where did this effort leave the country? For AAN’s year-end piece, co-director Thomas Ruttig has summarised what has happened, what has been achieved – […]

International Engagement Read more

Merry Christmas!

AAN Team •

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 […]

Context and Culture Read more

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

Gran Hewad • Kate Clark •

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 […]

Political Landscape Read more

Autumn Pastimes, or the Other Fighting Grounds of Afghanistan

Obaid Ali •

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 […]

Context and Culture Read more

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

Fabrizio Foschini •

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 […]

Political Landscape Read more

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

Thomas Ruttig •

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 […]

International Engagement Read more

Candidates on Camera: Interviewing the next president of Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

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 […]

Political Landscape Read more

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

Wazhma Samandary •

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 […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

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