Balkh Archives - Afghanistan Analysts Network

Balkh

“Atta for President” Again? The struggle for the Afghan presidency and Jamiat’s leadership

This year’s Nawruz, the Persian New Year on 21 March 2017, also heralded the beginning of the positioning for Afghanistan’s next presidential election, although due only in two years’ time. Atta Muhammad Nur, the powerful governor of Balkh province, used the popular holiday to announce that he will run in 2019. He kept open, however, […]

10 Apr 2017

Political Landscape Read more

Memorials and Patrons: How northern Afghan elites try to own history

S Reza Kazemi •

Elites in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province and most important city in the north, have, in recent years, supported the building of new memorials and re-naming of the city’s streets and intersections. They are also sponsoring intellectuals and their literary and artistic output. These are politically driven cultural projects, attempts by the leading […]

21 Jul 2014

Context and Culture Read more

Silk Road jewel reveals more of its treasures

AAN •

BBC, 20 October 2013 Balkh province in northern Afghanistan is home to some of the most significant historical sites in the world – its ancient city was even known as the mother of all cities. More than a decade after her first visit, Lynne O'Donnell returns with a group of archaeologists, trying to uncover more […]

20 Oct 2013

Local Officials Play Truant in Afghan North

admin •

IWPR, 15 February 2012 An investigation of the Kabul-based journalists organisation finds that in Balkh province, 12 out of the 15 sub-governors rarely appeared at their workplaces in 2011 between March and August, even though Balkh is considered one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan.

15 Feb 2012

Guest Blog: Ruling from the Mezzanine – the Balkh case

Michael Daxner •

The debate about the role of former commanders and warlords in the Afghan statehood and its regions, about whether they might integrate into the ‘new’ Afghanistan, become civilised by playing (in) the institutions as well as about what that means for the country’s direction is as controversial as inconclusive. Our guest blogger Michael Daxner* looks […]

21 Jun 2011

War and Peace Read more

Guest Blog: Mining the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’

Thalia Kennedy •

The big Logar copper mine of Mes-e Aynak, with its Buddhist finds, epitomizes a dilemma many countries are facing: excavate your natural resources or protect your cultural heritage (and natural environment). In Afghanistan, after three decades of violent conflict, the latter is threatened to lose out in this competition. But as the country’s archeological sites, […]

16 Feb 2011