Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Fabrizio Foschini

Striking at Kabul, now and then

Fabrizio Foschini •

The start of a new year is always an opportunity for reflection. 2011 was not the first and will probably not be the last year that drew to a close amid violence in Kabul. AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini takes a historical look at how the conflict has reached inside the gates of the Afghan capital in […]

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Melons: Afghan riches at the surface level

Fabrizio Foschini •

Winter chills are slowly creeping into our sunny Kabul existences. There are few comforts for this, and one is certainly fruit. In this season, oranges, guavas and, above all, pomegranates do a lot to assuage our troubles. AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini and Gran Hewad have also been finding solace in the memory of the bountiful melon […]

Context and Culture Read more

Ashura Attacks (3): A new type of violence in Afghanistan

Fabrizio Foschini •

One of the last taboos of violence in Afghanistan was broken by yesterday’s suicide attacks on the Ashura commemoration in Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif. Historically, sectarian tensions or conflicts have occasionally been seen in Afghanistan, but they have usually been stirred up and leveraged by politics or war. Sectarian hatred has never enjoyed public recognition […]

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The Thin Red Durand Line

Fabrizio Foschini •

The air-strikes that hit two Pakistani check-posts on the border between Mohmand Agency and Kunar province, killing 24 (some sources still report 25 or 26) Pakistani security forces and injuring a dozen more, have triggered, as expected, a strong reaction from the Pakistani authorities. As of now, Pakistan, ISAF and the Afghan military have very […]

Regional Relations Read more

Sugar trapped on the Silk Road

Fabrizio Foschini •

For many observers of Afghanistan, local and foreigner, Pakistan has become, through the years, an indispensable part of the political equation, its image increasingly darkened by the spread of conflict to its own territory and because of the the charge of interference in the Afghan conflict. Pakistan itself, its politics, society and economy, and especially […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

How outside interference politicised the Achin land conflict

Fabrizio Foschini •

Reading the news in the morning sometimes brings big surprises. Even before a suicide car rammed into a US military convoy on Kabul’s Dar-ul-Aman road yesterday, causing the heaviest death toll among ISAF troops ever in the capital, the AAN office was already puzzled by another event: the latest bloody outcome of the years-old land […]

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‘The big hope has been replaced by a big concern’: the Ten Years anniversary in the Afghan Press

Fabrizio Foschini •

In Afghanistan it is always a good time for stock-taking. The ten year anniversary of the US-led intervention on 7 October, though, did offer an unmatched opportunity to do so for many commentators. AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini had a look at what the Afghan printed press has been saying on the occasion and what attitudes their […]

International Engagement Read more

Nuristan in Fall

Fabrizio Foschini •

After a tough start, Nuristan province has passed the summer without further serious traumas. Still, all the pre-existing concerns about an insurgent takeover of the whole province are still there, just probably postponed to next year depending on the early onset of winter. In order to prevent this from happening, it is high time to […]

Political Landscape Read more

Another Longest Day in Kabul

Fabrizio Foschini •

As the sound of automatic weapons and rockets died down, hopefully not to resume soon in Kabul, the city went into the night without knowing the final outcome of today’s battles. Earlier during the day, Fabrizio Foschini and others at AAN could only listen to the sound of it coming through the wind, and hope […]

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The Enteqal Seven (7): Opportunities and Concerns in the North

Fabrizio Foschini •

More than one month has passed since Mazar-e Sharif was officially transitioned to the responsibility of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), along with the cities of Herat, Lashkargah and Mehtarlam, the provinces of Bamian and Panjshir, and most of Kabul. In the last of this series of blogs, AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini, with the help […]

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Nine out, nine in: 240 in between

Fabrizio Foschini •

Yesterday, at the beginning of the first parliamentary session after Eid holidays, the Wolesi Jirga shut its doors to the nine MPs who had been excluded by the Independent Electoral Commission, and part of it welcomed the nine newly declared winners instead. At the same time, part of the MPs protested (outside the Parliament) against […]

Political Landscape Read more

Bad Lieutenants in Nimruz

Fabrizio Foschini •

Nimruz lies at one of the forgotten edges of Afghanistan, so forgotten that it is possibly the province generating the lowest amount of news per square kilometre. A most brutal and brazen episode of violence involving the police there offers AAN’s Fabrizio Foschini the occasion to report on the province and its main feature – […]

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