Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai

Hamed Karzai as translator for Pir Gailani, likely in 1992. Source: archive/unknown (please let us known when you have the copyright for this)

Book Excerpt: Scenes of Afghan History – Hamed Karzai before 2001

Bette Dam •

As many influential Pashtuns, in the country and the diaspora, the Karzai family – and Hamed Karzai himself – offered support to the Taleban after they emerged in 1994 but were rejected by the movement’s leadership. They turned against them and – after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 – made overtures to the ‘Northern Alliance’ […]

Context and Culture Read more

Dreierrennen um die Präsidentennachfolge

admin •

Neues Deutschland, 4 April 2014 Article by AAN's Thomas Ruttig, explaining the constellation for the succession of Afghan president Hamed Karzai (in German).

AAN in the Media Read more

Trying to Control the Uncontrolled: the NSC’s decision on Wardak

Martine van Bijlert •

Months of reported abuses in Wardak by armed groups and individuals apparently linked to a US Special Operations base, and the failure of ISAF to take responsibility or to adequately respond, has led the National Security Council to announce that all US Special Operations Forces are to be removed from Wardak within two weeks. Although […]

War and Peace Read more

Torture, Illegal Armed Groups: Signs of Possible Afghan Government Action?

Kate Clark •

Many were surprised by the eventual response of the Afghan government to the detailed allegations made by UNAMA in January concerning torture carried out by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the Afghan National Police (ANP). The government’s initial denials that any problem existed were predictable enough, but were followed by President Karzai ordering […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

The Civilian Casualty Tightrope: Karzai Bans ANSF Calling in ‘Foreign’ Airstrikes on Villages

Gary Owen •

In a blistering speech on 16 February 2013, President Hamed Karzai called requests to foreigners by Afghan security forces for airstrikes on Afghan villages ‘shameful’.(1) His office said that tomorrow, he will issue a decree formally banning requests for strikes on what is being described in the English press as ‘residential areas’. The president’s move […]

War and Peace Read more

Correcting Details: More on the NYT Reporting the Human Rights Mapping

Kate Clark •

The New York Times piece ‘Top Afghans Tied to ’90s Carnage, Researchers Say’ ‘revealed’ what everyone knows and rarely says, that many of today’s senior Afghan politicians have murky pasts. Talking about the war crimes of the last thirty years has proved difficult for Afghans and the international powers alike. The decision, in 2005, to […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Karzai Asks Berlin for Help with Taliban Talks

admin •

Spiegel online, 22 July 2012 Now in English: The online version of Germany’s leading political weekly says that President Karzai has approached Germany at the margins of the Tokyo conference to help restarting talks with the Taleban. The report also says that former German special envoy Michael Steiner, now ambassador to India who had a […]

Recommended Reads Read more

Guest blog: The question of succession

Mujib Mashal •

Along with the withdrawal of foreign troops, a crucial political transition is on the cards for Afghanistan in 2014. Hamid Karzai nears the end of his second term, the only two he is constitutionally allowed to serve. While rumours of Karzai playing with the constitution to allow himself a third term were rife months ago, […]

Political Landscape Read more

Handing over Night Raids

Kate Clark •

Afghanistan and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on ‘Special Operations’, ensuring that night raids will continue – with Afghans ordering and conducting them and US forces acting only in support. The agreement is a victory for President Karzai who has long insisted – up till now in vain – that […]

International Engagement Read more

Guest Blog: Karzai and the ‘Imran Khan Factor’ in Pakistan

Malaiz Chopan-Daud •

There is little understanding of Pakistan and its internal dynamics in Afghanistan. A recent example is the visit of President Hamed Karzai to Pakistan last week, during which he met with Pakistani leaders – not only those from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) but also a number of other prominent politicians: the leaders of […]

Regional Relations Read more

Are the Taleban talking to Karzai (and does it matter)?

Martine van Bijlert •

When little is clear, all clues seem relevant. And so it can happen that a handful of fairly vague sentences by the President are taken as proof of a significant new step towards negotiations in Afghanistan. A closer look at these claims of emerging “three-way talks” shows that this reading is rather premature, as is […]

War and Peace Read more

Afghan President Hamid Karzai ‘plans talks with Taliban’

admin •

BBC, 29 January 2012 The Afghan government is planning to meet Taleban representatives in Saudi Arabia in what appears to be an attempt to jump-start their own channel for peace talks, in possible competition to the US/German Qatar channel. The BBC reports that the meeting ‘will come in the coming weeks, before the establishment of […]

Recommended Reads Read more

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