Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Kandahar

Kandahar

Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (25): contradictory figures and low turnout in Kandahar

Fazl Rahman Muzhary •

Kandahar’s turnout looks like it will be less than half the national average, pending finalisation of the numbers. There are many possible reasons for this, chief among them fraud, with limited reporting but plenty of anecdotal evidence of ballot stuffing and other irregularities. But Kandaharis also seem to have been deterred by the low level […]

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Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (2): The collapse foretold that did not happen

Ali Mohammad Sabawoon • Thomas Ruttig •

After the assassination in October 2018 of Kandahar’s powerful police chief and ruthless anti-Taleban strongman, General Abdul Razeq, it was feared that the security regime he had installed in central parts of the province might break down without him and the Taleban might capitalise on this. Although fighting has since increased, the feared collapse has […]

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Kandahar from Razeq to Tadin (1): Building the ‘American tribe’

Ali Mohammad Sabawoon • Thomas Ruttig •

After the assassination in October 2018 of Kandahar’s powerful police chief and ruthless anti-Taleban strongman, General Abdul Razeq, it was feared that the security regime he installed in central parts of the province might break down without him and the Taleban might capitalise on it. Although fighting has since increased, the feared collapse has not […]

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The Killing of Razeq: Removing the Taleban’s strongest foe in Kandahar, an indirect hit at elections

Thomas Ruttig •

An attack in Kandahar city has left the province’s governor, NDS chief and police commander, the unrivalled strongman of southern Afghanistan, General Abdul Razeq, dead. The commander of United States and NATO forces, General Scott Austin Miller who had just been meeting the three, was unharmed. The attack mimics earlier assassinations of officials and strongmen. […]

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Kandahar's Red Mosque, said to have been Mullah Omar's favourite one. Foto: Thomas Ruttig (2005).

The New Taleban Deputy Leaders: Is there an obvious successor to Akhtar Mansur?

Thomas Ruttig •

Reports of the alleged killing of new Taleban leader Akhtar Mansur in December 2015 as well as his subsequent disappearance from public view have raised the question as to who might be next-in-line and whether there exists an internal, legitimate mechanism for succession. This question is all the more pressing given the continuing, albeit dwindling, […]

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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’ […]

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The Mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Durrani in Kandahar, where the Cloak was initially meant to be hosted. Photo: Fabrizio Foschini

Under the Cloak of History: The Kherqa-ye Sharif from Faizabad to Kandahar

Bette Dam • Fabrizio Foschini •

These are hard times for holy shrines in many Muslim countries. Often targeted by fundamentalist militants who reject practices of popular religious devotion as un-Islamic, many ancient and famous ziarats have been destroyed or damaged. The last on the list seems to have been the tomb of Yunus (Jonah) near Mosul, Iraq, reportedly blown up […]

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Afghan women stand to be counted as West begins to disengage

AAN •

Reuters/Euronews, 16 Apil 2014 AAN's Wazhma Samandary is quoted in this article about a young Kandahari woman campaigning for a seat in the provincial council:  “The withdrawal of international forces has increased concerns about insecurity, because of the increase of anti-government groups, militias, local commanders and other strongmen,” Wazhma Samandary, a researcher at Afghanistan Analysts […]

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Elections 2014 (8): Kandahar, a centre-districts divide and the weakening of the tribal factor

Borhan Osman •

Election day has already been praised for the high voter turnout and the relatively peaceful atmosphere it went down in. Pictures from Kandahar, a province perceived as notoriously insecure, surprised many, showing men and women lining up in long queues to vote. A look at the micro-level, however, reveals a more nuanced picture. Borhan Osman, […]

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Geld und Pfründe entscheiden über Stimmen

AAN •

SRF (Swiss radio), 4 April 2014 AAN's Martine van Bijlert is quoted on voting patterns in Kandahar in 2009 and 2014 here: Damals waren laut Schätzungen 40 Prozent aller Stimmen aus Kandahar gefälscht – zugunsten von Hamid Karzai, wie Martine van Bijlert vom Afghan Analyst Network sagt, einer Denkfabrik in Kabul. Lokale Anführer hätten die […]

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Kandahar, cradle of Afghan insurgency, torn by tribal rivalry ahead of vote

AAN •

Reuters, 27 March 2014 Growing violence before the elections despite doubling of security forces ahead of the elections, a rift in the Karzai family with one leading member campaigning for Ashraf Ghani and a remarkable quote from a tribal leader: "People in Kandahar are tired of exclusive rule by the president's brothers, while other tribes have […]

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Rare Afghan Haven at Risk as U.S. Departs

AAN •

Wall Street Journal, 31 October 2013 In this article we learn about district control in southern Afghanistan: Hutal, the district centre of Maiwand district (Kandahar province), is a "bubble" of government control, the only one in the district: "There is a health clinic and a functioning district administration. Women and children roam its streets freely, […]

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