Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Salima Ahmadi

The family of Zahra, a 14-year old girl who was 4 months pregnant when she was burnt to death by in-laws in Ghor, sit in a protest tent in Allauddin Park, in Kart-e Seh area of Kabul, to seek justice for Zahra. Photo: Tolo News.

Reality Check: No justice for women in Ghor province

Salima Ahmadi •

Ghor province, in western Afghanistan, has been in the headlines in the past few years. Not only was the appointment of its first female provincial governor overturned, there has also been a series of extreme cases of violence against its women. In this unsettling provincial case study, AAN’s Salima Ahmadi takes a closer look at […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more
Just 27 MPs voted for the amended presidential decree that would have allowed changes to the electoral commissions. 126 rejected it. Photo: Tolo News

Another hurdle for elections in 2016: MPs reject presidential decree on electoral commissions

Ali Yawar Adili • Kate Clark • Lenny Linke • Salima Ahmadi •

Had MPs approved the presidential legislative decree ‘reforming’ the electoral commissions, Afghanistan would now be significantly closer to holding parliamentary and district elections. (And the National Unity Government could have claimed to be pushing forward on electoral reform, something required by the agreement that established it.) However, after three days of ill-mannered discussion, MPs roundly […]

Political Landscape Read more
Anything but a full house - many seats in the Wolesi Jirga plenary hall were often not even occupied by half of the MPs - meaning that no quorum was reached to vote on legislation. (Photo Source: Pajhwok 2016)

Struggling to Get a Quorum in Parliament: Fiddling the figures and suspending MPs

Lenny Linke • Salima Ahmadi •

The lower house of the Afghan parliament has always struggled with attendance. However, during the current legislative year, which began in March, it has been rare for it to get a quorum (ie a majority of MPs attending). With two thirds of all plenary sessions inquorate, many laws on the agenda could not be voted […]

Political Landscape Read more
Afghan parliament will vote on 9 April about a new interior minister, among others, after the previous one, Nur-ul-Haq Ulumi (here on a 2005 election poster in Kandahar) stepped down. Photo: Thomas Ruttig.

Filling NUG Vacancies: Parliament to vote on Interior Minister and Attorney General

Ehsan Qaane • Salima Ahmadi • Thomas Ruttig •

With two international conferences that will decide about future support levels for Afghanistan at the horizon, and a surprisingly high number of key positions still held by caretakers or politically vulnerable individuals, the NUG has moved to fill two posts that are central to the government’s key undertakings: Interior Minister, which plays an important role […]

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For the first time, an MP has accused a fellow MP of corruption. The case eventually went to the Attorney General, but only after the vast majority of other MPs voted to give the accused immunity from prosecution. Photo: Pajhwok archive photo.

2015 Performance of the Wolesi Jirga: Low attendance, nominal oversight

Salima Ahmadi •

The lower house of the Afghan parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, will end its winter recess and begin its next sitting on 6 March 2016. With elections delayed, the current group of MPs is likely to be in place for some time. This seemed like a good time, then, to review the lower house’s performance in 2015. […]

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Interior of the new inaugurated Wolesi Jirga hall of Afghan Parliament (Photo Credit: Wolesi Jirga Website 2015)

New Building, Old MPs: A guide to the Afghan parliament

Salima Ahmadi • Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan’s parliament has relocated to a new building of Indian construction in Kabul. Moreover, a date has finally been set for the next parliamentary elections. With the parliament’s term extended until the elections, it has another year of sessions, which raises the issue of its very legality. AAN researcher Salima Ahmadi (with contributions from senior […]

Political Landscape Read more

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