Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: NDS

NDS

Police and NDS Torture: One in three security detainees tortured, despite long-term downward trend

Kate Clark •

UNAMA and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have released their latest report on the treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan. They found only the slightest reduction in the reporting of torture and ill-treatment since 2017-18, with torture still being used against 30 per cent – or one in […]

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Picture shows damaged building

One Step Closer to War Crime Trials? New ICC report on Afghanistan

Ehsan Qaane • Kate Clark •

The International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor has said it will “imminently” be taking a decision on whether to request authorisation from judges to commence an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan. The Taleban could be investigated, among other offences, for murder and intentionally attacking civilians, while Afghan government forces, and the US military […]

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On 10 May 2016, the care takers for the positions of the head of NDS (Stanakzai, centre) and the Minister of Defense (Abdullah Khan, left) were introduced by CEO Dr Abdullah, they are still awaiting the vote of confidence by the parliament. (Source: Tolonews)

Old Names for the NDS and Defence Ministry: NUG proposes Stanakzai and Abdullah Khan, again.

Thomas Ruttig •

The National Unity Government (NUG) has finally moved to fill the last two vacant key posts in the national cabinet, those of defence minister and head of the intelligence agency. In the climate of mistrust between its two camps, it was not easy to identify mutually acceptable candidates – and, so, the names are neither […]

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Former NDS Chief Rahmatullah Nabil at a press conference in October 2015 Source: PAJHWOK/Fayaz Omar

Political Cleavages over Pakistan: The NDS chief’s farewell

Thomas Ruttig •

Rahmatullah Nabil, the chief of the country’s intelligence service, submitted his resignation on 10 December 2015. This now leaves two of the Afghan government’s four major security positions filled by acting officials (the second vacancy, for more than a year, is the defence minister’s position). Nabil’s position had presumably become untenable, after he publicly criticised […]

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"Torture tarnishes the image of the state." Photo: ToloNews.

Because of Impunity: UN reports Afghan forces still torturing Afghans

Kate Clark •

It is two years since UNAMA last reported on torture by Afghan security forces of detainees suspected of conflict-related crimes. In the wake of its 2013 report, former President Karzai was stung into investigating the matter and instituted steps to try to root torture out. ISAF also strengthened its monitoring of detainees it transferred to […]

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Mystery surrounds move of Afghan ‘torturer in chief’ to U.S. amid allegations of spy agency abuse

AAN •

Washington Post, 29 April 2014 A protrait of Haji Gulalai who, writes the daily, “had run Afghan intelligence operations in Kandahar after the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 and later served as head of the spy service’s detention and interrogation branch. After 2009, his whereabouts were unknown”.  

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Pakistan ‘behind fatal blast’, say Afghan officials

AAN Team •

AFP/The Australian, 21 January 2014 The news agency report about reactions to the Taverna attack quotes from the AAN dispatch: “It was an attack on foreign civilians targeted merely for being foreign, a rare occasion in this Afghan war,” said Afghanistan Analysts Network.”

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Recalling Past Threats, Afghans in Tranquil [Panjshir] Valley Work to Keep It That Way

AAN •

New York Times, 13 January 2014 Panjshiris are preparing themselves against a Taleban comeback, reports the Times. "Western security experts and senior Afghan defense officials say Panjshiri boasts about squirreling away weapons throughout the valley are credible. … Panjshir is also the only province where uniformed agents from the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main intelligence […]

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Ghazni Militia Holds Locals to Ransom

AAN •

IWPR, 30 November 2013 The anti-Taleban 'uprising'/ALP saga continues with a telling report from Moqor district in Ghazni were three ALP commanders terrorise the population and run private prisons, a well-known feature from all stages of Afghans wars. The three commanders admitted they received regular payments from Kabul until [former NDS head] Asadullah Khaled left Afghanistan for medical […]

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Pakistan: Der ferngesteuerte Krisenstaat

AAN Team •

Wochenzeitung (Zurich), 7 November 2013 A guest article (in German) by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig, looking at the implications of the killing, by a drone attack, of Pakistani Taleban Hakimullah Mehsud, on Pakistan’s internal situation in which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif desperately needs internal stability if he wants to tackle the complex socio-economic and institutional crises […]

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The ‘Other Guantanamo’ 7: Foreigners in limbo at Bagram

Kate Clark •

When wars end, military detainees have to be released. Yet at the end of 2014 when President Obama has said the war in Afghanistan will “come to an end”, it is still completely unclear what will happen to the more than 60 non-Afghans held by the United States military at Bagram Airbase. Most were detained […]

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Daudzai In – and Out: Pre-election cabinet reshuffles

Thomas Ruttig •

Within two days, President Hamed Karzai has changed two of his key cabinet posts: Muhammad Omar Daudzai was appointed acting interior minister on 1 September 2013, one day after Rahmatullah Nabil became acting head of the Afghan intelligence service. AAN’s Senior Analyst Thomas Ruttig looks at the implications and predicts that, with the registration of […]

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