Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Ghani

Ghani

Peace Leadership: Power struggles, division and an incomplete council

Ali Yawar Adili

Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, has approved a 46-member Leadership Committee for the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), but criticisms have come in hard and fast from all quarters. The most significant rejection has come from Dr Abdullah Abdullah, who asserts his right under the power-sharing agreement to lead the peace process, including making appointments […]

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The Second meeting of Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation, held on 28 February 2018 in the Afghan capital, marked a change in peace rhetoric. Credit: Tolo

Who shall cease the fire first? Afghanistan’s peace offer to the Taleban

Jelena Bjelica Thomas Ruttig

The second meeting of the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation that was held in the Afghan capital on 28 February 2018 marked a change in the peace rhetoric. The Afghan government presented some very concrete proposals for peace talks with the Taleban. It came with a few conditions (not called as such) – mainly […]

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The Unity Government’s First Six Months: Where is the governance?

Thomas Ruttig

After six months of Afghan Unity Government – what has been achieved? President Ghani, some say, has been ruling with a ‘two-man government’ (him and Hanif Atmar, head of the National Security Council), leading many to feel left out. ‘Strategic silence’ has become a somewhat mocking term for Ghani’s style of government – or is he […]

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WJ cabinet vote MPs voted to endorse or reject the candidate ministers put forward by the National Unity Government. 9 got the vote. 10 failed. Photo: Pajhwok News Agency.

Winnowing the Cabinet List: MPs vote, nine of 27 ministers endorsed

Kate Clark

Afghanistan finally has some ministers – nine men; yes, all those who succeeded in getting the lower house’s endorsement were male. Today (26 January 2015), the Wolesi Jirga rejected ten other candidates, while eight other prospective ministers had already fallen by the wayside (because of having a second passport, a criminal conviction, not having a […]

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Some of the cabinet candidates (left to right: sitting: Rabbani, Maiwandi, Karimi, standing: Ulumi) at today's press conference. Photo: screenshot from Ariana TV.

New Faces Versus Old Structures: Afghanistan’s national unity cabinet (amended)

AAN Team

Finally, Afghanistan has a cabinet, pending parliament’s approval of course, three and a half months after Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah were inaugurated as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of a national unity government. Getting an agreed-upon list has been a long, painful process, for both negotiators and for Afghans waiting for a government […]

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Taleban for the Ghani Cabinet? A look at a BBC report

Thomas Ruttig

It sounded like ‘breaking news’ from Kabul: “The Taliban have been offered posts in the new Afghan government, but have turned them down, the BBC understands. The offer came from new President Ashraf Ghani in a bid to end the insurgency that threatens the recovery of the country.” The BBC report, that came just before […]

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Civil Society's symbolic cabinet. Photo courtesy of Khaama.

104 Days Without a Government – and Counting: The national mood sours

Kate Clark Obaid Ali Thomas Ruttig

More than three months after President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah were inaugurated, they have still not formed a government. That continuing lack of a cabinet has meant public confidence and patience – which, at the time of the inauguration, ran high – are now wearing thin. A civil society […]

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Kabul Bank: glitzy facade, foul credits. Photo: ToloNews

AAN Podcasts: Martine van Bijlert talks Kabul Bank

Thomas Ruttig

Regular visitors to the AAN website will have noticed that we have added an additional channel to our publications: podcasts. Although we already posted some podcasts earlier on (visit the archive here), you will be able to literally hear from us more regularly, from now on. We start our new podcast series with a comment […]

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Portraits of Ghani and Abdullah. Photo c/o Tolonews.

The National Unity Government’s Elusive Cabinet

Martine van Bijlert

On day seventy-two of Afghanistan’s national unity government, the new cabinet still looks to be weeks away, with the country’s President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) locked in protracted discussions over who to appoint and how that should be decided. The composition of the cabinet will be a first, crucial test of what Afghanistan’s new […]

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Handing Over Alive: Whither Afghanistan’s political transition?

Thomas Ruttig

When President Hamed Karzai left office after the completion of his two constitutional terms and handed over to President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani, as he now officially prefers to be called, this was widely called the ‘first peaceful political transition’ – read: without violence or the head of state being immediately killed – in a very […]

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The Start into the Better Governance Marathon: Ghani’s first days

Thomas Ruttig

New president Ashraf Ghani has proven himself a man intent on not losing time – after so much of it had been lost in post-electoral counting, auditing and political wrangling since April 2014. As opposed to the habits of the Karzai era, the Afghan government did not go into hibernation over the recent Eid-e Qurban […]

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President Ghani sworn in ny chief judge. Photo c/o ToloNews.

Elections 2014 (53): Ghani sworn in as Afghanistan’s new president

Kate Clark

Afghanistan finally has a new president – and a chief executive officer (CEO). Ashraf Ghani’s first act after being sworn in was to sign a decree establishing the new position of CEO and then appointing to it his bitter election rival and now partner in government, Abdullah Abdullah, who was thereby enabled to also take […]

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