Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Roxanna Shapour

A Son of Jaghori: Remembering Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Ishaq Fayyaz, 1930-2026

Rohullah Sorush • Roxanna Shapour •

For centuries, a steady stream of Afghan students have gone to the great Shia Islamic seminaries of Iran and Iraq in search of religious learning. Few rose as high as Mohammad Ishaq Fayyaz, who died in June 2026 at the age of 96. AAN’s Rohullah Suroush and Roxanna Shapour trace Fayyaz’s journey from a village […]

Context and Culture Read more

Breaking Point? The mounting conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan 

Fabrizio Foschini • Rachel Reid • Roxanna Shapour •

Over the past six months, the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan has extended from low-level border skirmishes to talk of “open war.” Pakistan conducted its first-ever air strikes in Kabul in October 2025, targeting Tehrik-e Taliban-e Pakistan (TTP) and, more recently, on 16 March 2026, bombed the city, killing more than 140 civilians. Islamabad, for the […]

War and Peace Read more

The Daily Hustle: How to get a national ID card in Afghanistan if you’re a Kuchi

Roxanna Shapour •

The Daily Hustle is our series of first-person accounts by one Afghan about one aspect of their daily life. On our website, you can find stories such as the girl who was so appalled by madrasa education, she persuaded her family to set one up for girls, the labourer and his wife taking in a […]

Podcasts Read more

Reigniting the Flames of Justice: ICC seeks arrest of the Islamic Emirate’s Supreme Leader and Chief Justice

Rachel Reid • Roxanna Shapour •

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has requested arrest warrants for two of the most senior leaders of the Islamic Emirate. Khan said that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani bear “criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

A Pay Cut for Afghan Women Working in the Public Sector: “What can you do with 5,000 afghanis?”

Jelena Bjelica • Roxanna Shapour •

The order by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Hibatullah Akhundzada, to cut the salaries of women on the public payroll to just 5,000 afghanis (70 US dollars) a month was a bombshell. The Amir’s order was short and ambiguously worded, driving anxiety and speculation: did it apply to all women working […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more
The opening session of the Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha. Photo: State of Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 18 February 2024

From Doha to Doha: The contest over a UN Special Envoy lingers as discussions and disagreements drag on

Roxanna Shapour •

Afghanistan is back on the world’s agenda. The UN Security Council has met behind closed doors to hear about the recently held United Nations-convened meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in Doha. The current rulers of Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate, decided not to attend the Doha gathering and are adamantly against the planned appointment of […]

International Engagement Read more

The Contest for a Special Envoy: Will the meeting in Doha yield a shift in the world’s engagement with the Emirate? 

Roxanna Shapour •

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will host a second meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the capital of Qatar, Doha, on 18-19 February 2024. Unlike the last gathering in May 2023, the Emirate has also been invited, although it has not yet confirmed that it will send a delegation. The two-day meeting is expected […]

International Engagement Read more

The Long Winding River: Unravelling the water dispute between Afghanistan and Iran

Mhd Assem Mayar • Roxanna Shapour •

Afghanistan and Iran have been at loggerheads for much of this year over the Helmand River and its water. As the region grappled with a punishing drought for the third year running, the two neighbouring countries have been locked in a tense melee over shared transboundary rivers. While Iran seeks to assert its rights over […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Nature’s Fury: The Herat earthquakes of 2023

Roxanna Shapour •

The earth has continued to shudder in Herat province ever since the first of a series of deadly earthquakes hit the province on Saturday 7 October around 11am local time. They have destroyed entire villages and killed and injured thousands of people. Since then, dozens more tremors, including three powerful earthquakes have caused additional havoc […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

What Do the Taleban Spend Afghanistan’s Money On? Government expenditure under the Islamic Emirate (Amended)

Kate Clark • Roxanna Shapour •

When our readers told us about some errors in our report: ‘What Do The Taleban Spend Afghanistan’s Money On? Government expenditure under the Islamic Emirate,” we started checking and cross-checking our sources and the report. We found that several budget lines in the operational budget for the security sector in the 1400 (2021) Q4 mini-budget […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

A Ban, a Resolution and a Meeting: A look at the May 2023 meeting in Doha and the reactions to it

Kate Clark • Roxanna Shapour •

The 1-2 May 2023 gathering in Doha, hosted by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, brought together the representatives of 21 countries – the five permanent members of the Security Council, major donors and regional players, plus the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. They spent two days talking about how to engage with […]

International Engagement Read more

Two Security Council Resolutions and a Humanitarian Appeal: UN grapples with its role in Afghanistan

Jelena Bjelica • Roxanna Shapour •

Recent complex negotiations surrounding UNAMA’s mandate in Taleban-run Afghanistan have shone a light on longstanding divisions among UN Security Council members concerning key issues, such as human rights, women’s rights, peace and security and governance. This year, on 16 March 2023, member states agreed to resolve their differences by passing two Afghanistan-related resolutions; one that […]

International Engagement Read more

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