Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Bamyan

Bamyan

The TUTAP kerosene lamp memorial in the centre of Bamyan. Photo: Jelena Bjelica.

Power to the People (3): Perspectives from Bamyan

Jelena Bjelica • Thomas Ruttig •

The TUTAP commission established by President Ghani following massive protests recently decided in favour of the Salang route for a north-south power line. The commission ruled further that Bamyan should get its own 220KV power line by 2019. This is a balanced solution in the midst of crisis, meant to temper ethnic tensions that arose […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more
Power transmission line in Balkh province. Photo: Jelena Bjelica (2011).

Power to the People (2): The TUTAP protests

Thomas Ruttig •

When protesters interrupted President Ashraf Ghani’s speech in London three times on 13 May 2016, the heated controversy surrounding the route of TUTAP, a main electricity grid initiative, received even international attention. In Afghanistan, the tensions have been simmering since January 2016 when Hazara members of the government started trying to prevent a potential rerouting of […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Protecting Beauty: Shah Foladi – a new conservation area for Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

Afghanistan has a new protected conservation area – the Shah Foladi: 2,700 square kilometres on the north side of the Koh-e Baba range of the Hindu Kush in Bamyan province. This mix of irrigated valleys, upland rangeland and high peaks is important for wildlife (270 species of birds, including many seasonal migrants, and many flowering […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Bamyan, First Ever Cultural Capital of South Asia: A big party, but what else?

Qayoom Suroush •

Five months late and almost half-way through its crucial year, Bamyan has finally been inaugurated as the 2015 South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) cultural capital, the organisation’s first ever. Second Vice President Sarwar Danesh, Second Deputy Chief Executive Muhammad Mohaqeq and Minister of Information and Culture Bari Jahani were among the guests who […]

Context and Culture Read more

Elections 2014 (15): Hazaras overturning all expectations

Qayoom Suroush •

Before the elections, no-one had expected Abdullah Abdullah to win the Hazarajat’s votes, especially by such a large margin. His strong showing here – and that of his vice president, Mohammad Mohaqeq – could have consequences for the presidential election as a whole; the Hazaras, as one of the largest minorities in the country, could play […]

Political Landscape Read more

Elections 2014 (11): How the Hazaras voted in Bamyan

Qayoom Suroush •

Initial observations appear to show that Dr Abdullah has won the majority of the vote in Bamyan – with Ashraf Ghani so far second by a large margin. Bamyan is important – a province which is generally secure and has a highly motivated electorate. It is also the one province with an overwhelmingly ethnic Hazara […]

Political Landscape Read more
Photo: Pajhwok Afghan News, 2013

Cure or Curse? Implications of the Kilij mine closure for Bamyan’s security situation

Jalil Benish •

As Afghanistan prepares to take full responsibility for security and state functions by the end of 2014, the country’s natural resources are often touted as a major source of future state revenue to substitute for dwindling international aid. There are, however, concerns regarding the ability and willingness of the Afghan government to ensure that extraction is […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

How one girl’s killing has put Afghan justice on trial

AAN •

The Guardian, 8 October 2013 A good reminder by Emma Graham-Harrison that there are other things then an election campaign going on in Afghanistan, too: The story of "the impoverished relatives of a murdered 16-year-old girl are fighting the wealthy family of an MP [from Bamian province] in Afghan courts in a case that is testing the […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Insurgency encroaching on central Afghanistan

admin •

Long War Journal, 12 November 2012 New Zealand forces in Bamyan ‘have quietly and permanently closed two of their forward operating bases’ in Kahmard district, including forward operation base (FOB) Romero in the Do-Ab area, in early October.

Recommended Reads Read more

Taliban killed Bamiyan’s head of Provincial Council

admin •

The Lost Flaneur (blog), 7 June 2011 An obituary, pointing to a new problem area, the Ghorband valley north of Kabul, and also differentiates the headline a bit – when it says at the end that local HIG people might be responsible for the murder.

Recommended Reads Read more

A Ministers retreat, a rowdy crowd and the politics of the thinly veiled threat

Martine van Bijlert •

A quick visit to Bamyan to see the sights and enjoy its beauty – no politics intended. But in between the magic of the Band-e Amir lakes and the Dragon Valley, the ancient cities of Zuhaak and Gholghola, the awe of waking up to the view of the Buddha silhouettes, the walks through the fields […]

Political Landscape Read more

Subscribe to receive updates from the Afghanistan Analysts Network

Sign up