Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Fabrizio Foschini

Striking at Kabul, in 2013: the attack on the traffic police HQ

Fabrizio Foschini •

Just before dawn, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) premises on the Deh Mazang roundabout in West Kabul came under attack. After a massive car bomb detonated in front of the building, an insurgent commando of five men tried to enter the traffic police headquarters. Two of them eventually made their way inside, and holed […]

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No More Complaints? The ECC’s Uncertain Fate

Fabrizio Foschini •

The cabinet of ministers is finally sending its draft electoral law to parliament, and a preview of its content is already proving a bombshell. According to the draft, the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) is to be replaced by a special court appointed by the Supreme Court. Waiting to see what the future of the ECC […]

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Guns, Girls and Grizzled Warriors: Ismail Khan’s mujahedin council project in the West

Fabrizio Foschini •

The phenomenon of Afghan strongmen visiting their home provinces and delivering fiery speeches to their ‘traditional’ constituencies is all but new. Still, it has intensified as of late, as the transition process is said to progress and the next presidential election approaches. The most recent rendition given by the Minister of Water and Energy, Ismail […]

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A thin line between insurgency and local politics in Badakhshan

Fabrizio Foschini •

The competition between strongmen in Badakhshan until recently took place mainly at the local level – commanders would vie with each other for the control of poppy cultivation and trafficking or mine extraction. Patronage from the centre, from the Badakhshi politicians in Kabul, had also been a vital component of these struggles, but until recently […]

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Conservatism by Default: Badakhshan’s Jamiat after Ustad Rabbani

Fabrizio Foschini •

Politics in Badakhshan sometimes seem to follow a separate course than Afghanistan’s mainstream, as is the case in other peripheral areas. Powerbrokers in this remote province – usually former jihadi commanders, most of them linked to the Jamiat-e Islami party – are struggling for control of trafficking and extracting resources from the province and appear […]

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BREAKING NEWS: Harirod Storm Swept the Northern Alborz

Fabrizio Foschini •

Yesterday, 19 October 2012, Tofan Harirod defeated Simorgh Alborz 2-1 in a hotly contested final match of the Roshan Afghan Premier League. This may not have decisive and immediate implications on the political situation of Afghanistan, but the date will indeed remain a memorable one in the annals of Afghan sport. Moreover, it turned out […]

Context and Culture Read more

Education in times of waseta: the example of Badakhshan

Fabrizio Foschini •

It is common wisdom that teachers are among the most important sections of Afghan society, as far as reconstructing the country goes. Also, almost everybody agrees that they are among the most underpaid and unempowered classes in Afghanistan. On the occasion of World Teachers’ Day, celebrated today in Afghanistan, AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini, who has just […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

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

Fabrizio Foschini •

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 […]

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

Fabrizio Foschini •

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 […]

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On the borders: Where do the attacks in Nimruz come from?

Fabrizio Foschini •

The recent multiple suicide attacks that hit Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province – with possibly one of the single biggest losses of lives in the Afghan conflict – received relatively small attention by the international media. Of course, both the global media and public are in a slack period regarding news from Afghanistan. The […]

War and Peace Read more

The commuter of Alisheng: Death of a country district governor

Fabrizio Foschini •

The insurgent strategy of targeting rural government officials like woluswals (district governors) is not a new one, and it is gaining importance as the battle for contested areas becomes more acute. District governors cut a sometimes misunderstood figure in this war, as they are often portrayed as either old-times commanders or uninfluential pawns in somebody […]

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Parliament sacks key ministers: Two birds with one stone?

Fabrizio Foschini •

The Afghan Lower House of the parliament, in an unprecedented move, voted out the two key ministers of Defence and Interior, in a single session. While it is early to make predictions on who will succeed them and whether they will be kept on as acting ministers for a while, it is worth having a […]

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