Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Kabul

Kabul

Afghan Private Schools Under Scrutiny

admin •

IWPR, 31 October 2011 Maiwand Safi reports about a probe ordered by President Karzai over Kabul’s private schools. While parents decry sometimes substandard teaching and high fees, the MoE criticises that English is taught instead of Dari and Pashto in some of them. The Chamber of Commerce sees an undue interference into the private sector.

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BREAKING NEWS: Double Rainbow over Kabul

Thomas Ruttig •

Rain in Kabul is always good news. But it also has an aesthetic component: Before the backdrop of the mountains around the city, it creates the most beautiful rainbows. This inspired AAN’s Thomas Ruttig and Fabrizio Foschini to muse about a few rain-related issues. The heavy shower that went down over Afghanistan’s usually dust-covered capital […]

Context and Culture Read more

Ten Years After – or: My Former Cleaner’s Beard

Thomas Ruttig •

Ten years ago today, the first bombs were dropped over Afghanistan. Most Kabulis welcomed them and even applauded when houses of certain Taleban ‘guests’ were hit. They were really tired of living as international pariahs and under a leader who’s face was unknown and who only recommended prayer to overcome social problems, leaving the real […]

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Another Longest Day in Kabul

Fabrizio Foschini •

As the sound of automatic weapons and rockets died down, hopefully not to resume soon in Kabul, the city went into the night without knowing the final outcome of today’s battles. Earlier during the day, Fabrizio Foschini and others at AAN could only listen to the sound of it coming through the wind, and hope […]

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Flash from the Past: Taleban Independence Day 2001 (now with video) (2)

Thomas Ruttig •

This is a follow-up to Kate Clark’s blog describing how Afghan Independence Days were celebrated during the Taleban rule. In 2001, the Taleban indeed organised some events in order to give Kabulis, who had not experienced much of this under their rule, a rare day of joy, with a small festival, students’ parades, exhibitions and […]

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Flash From the Past: Afghanistan Independence Day 2001, 2000

Kate Clark •

In 2000, the Taleban celebrated Afghan Independence Day with military parades and cultural events. A year later, they were focussing heavily on the military. As AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, (then the BBC Kabul correspondent), reported at the time, during those 12 months, hardliners in the movement had come even more strongly into the ascendant, […]

Political Landscape Read more

In one tense district, Afghan crisis comes into focus

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McClatchy newspapers, 1 August 2011 Jonathan Landay reports why Sarobi, as Kabul province’s only district, has not been included in transition phase 1.

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Reading newspapers on an airplane (2)

Thomas Ruttig •

After another longer stay in Kabul, reading newspapers on an airplane brings one back into the news mainstream – because, while in Afghanistan, you simply are overwhelmed by events there and develop some kind of tunnel vision. This time, it was particularly dreadful: with the series of political assassinations, both in northern and southern Afghanistan, […]

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The Enteqal Seven (6): What is left to transition in Kabul

Fabrizio Foschini •

Against the blazing red background of increasingly brazen attacks carried out inside the capital, Kabul province moves towards the imminent transition of security. How this is going to affect the situation in the province, as the city and most of the districts have already been transitioned de facto in 2008-09, is not clear. However, it […]

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ATTACK ON KABUL INTERCONTI (updated)

Thomas Ruttig •

A group of six armed insurgents has stormed into Kabul Interconti hotel around 10 pm on 28 June. Around 22.40 local time, we heard a loud single explosion, followed by police cars with sirens approaching the area and heavy but sporadic small arms fire. The group resisted until 4.40 in the morning; the last three […]

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The IMF, Kabul Bank, government salaries and transition (updated)

Martine van Bijlert •

The IMF and the Afghan government failed to reach an agreement last week on how to deal with the Kabul Bank crisis. The long-simmering controversy, which began months ago, is starting to have far-reaching consequences both for the cash-flow of the Afghan government and for the possible nature of the transition, as donors are making […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

Taleban Contacts between Smoke and Mirrors: Karzai’s 18 June speech

Thomas Ruttig •

Nothing is what it appears in the T2T drama series. Talking to the Talebs is a cabinet of mirrors. The mirrors make it appear that smoke is rising from one place while the fire is burning at another. And it is not even clear whether this is real smoke and fire, or just Javanese-style shadow […]

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