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Afghanistan

Maps

Current Scenario

Zabul's no Kabul, Economist, UK, July 7, 2005
After the optimism that followed the low levels of violence during last year's presidential elections, is the tide turning? In Afghanistan's badlands, things are getting worse, not better.

Background

Afghanistan: War and Transition, CNN, USA
A very comprehensive database with useful links

Country profile: Afghanistan, BBC, UK
An overview of Afghanistan including key facts, political leaders, timeline and notes on the media

Afghanistan Constitution: key points, BBC, UK, January 04, 2004
Itemisation of the key points of Afghanistan's first post-Taleban constitution, adopted by the country's grand assembly, or loya jirga, on Sunday, as carried by the French news agency AFP.

The political economy of war & peace, Eurasia Net, 1999
The Afghan conflict has created an open war, criminalized economy, transforming indigenous social relations and weakening states and legal economies throughout the region. Sustainable peace will require not just an end to fighting and a political agreement but a regional economic transformation that provides alternative forms of livelihood and promotes accountability.

Afghanistan: Institute for War & Peace Studies, UK
News & background reports

Afghanistan: Institute for War & Peace Studies, UK
News & background reports

Understanding Afghanistan: Land in Crisis, National Geographic
Maps, latest situation, troop movement, humanitarian efforts

Crisis in Afghanistan
Policy issues, US efforts, related think tanks

Afghanistan: Country in crisis, UNICEF
Background, progress and resources

USAID Afghanistan
Progress reports, video reports, news stories

Analysis

Fingers crossed on constitution, Daily Times, Lahore, January 28, 2004
The uncomfortable fact is that Afghanistan has to pass through a lot of ‘history’ yet to reach the level of general acceptance of the principles contained in the constitution

A new beginning, The Hindu, Chennai, January 09, 2004
The people of Afghanistan embarked on a course they have never before charted in their history when their representatives adopted a new Constitution at a Loya Jirga.

Donor delay spells doom, IPS, September 20, 2003
By completing just 1 percent of the reconstruction required in Afghanistan to date, the United States and other donors are risking renewed conflict, if not disintegration, in the devastated country, says an unusually frank report released this week by the US relief organization CARE.

The ironies of Afghan opium production, Asia Times, Hong Kong, September 17, 2003
Driven by war, poverty and chaos, Afghanistan's opium production in the wake of the ouster of the Taliban regime at the end of 2001 is increasing dramatically, and seems to be the only avenue by which many Afghanis can make a living.

Peace Strategies

How to win the peace in Afghanistan, Weekly Standard, USA, July 01, 2002
Early American military victories, the current low level of fighting, and the recent completion of the loya jirga, or council of elders, all have contributed to a false sense of progress evident both in official U.S. statements and in the media.

Prospects for Peace in Afghanistan: The Role of Pakistan, IPA, 1999
A regional proxy war is being fought on Afghan soil. Unless the main states involved - Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan - reach a consensus on how Afghanistan should be governed and terminate their political, military and financial support to the warring parties, the conflict is unlikely to end.

Reports & Research Papers

Afghan child soldiers to be rehabilitated, UNICEF, February 09, 2004
A demobilization program will be launched tomorrow in Afghanistan, to help former child soldiers reintegrate into civilian life.

Afghanistan Constitution: key points, BBC, UK, January 04, 2004
Itemisation of the key points of Afghanistan's first post-Taleban constitution, adopted by the country's grand assembly, or loya jirga, on Sunday, as carried by the French news agency AFP.

The killing fields of Aghanistan, IWPR, UK, June 26, 2002
Successive government bans on poppy production have had little impact on a deadly industry that blights lives across the world.

Afghanistan: Return of the Warlords, HRW, June 2002
As Afghan and United Nations officials prepare for the forthcoming loya jirga (grand national assembly), as called for in the 2001 Bonn Agreement to choose Afghanistan's next government, ordinary Afghans are increasingly terrorized by the rule of local and regional military commanders - warlords - who are reasserting their control over large areas of Afghanistan.

Women in Post-Taliban Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch, May 2002

Building peace & civil society in Afghanistan, Asia Source, after September 2001
Report on symposium sponsored by the Asia Society & the Carnegie council on Ethics & International Affairs. PDF.

Peace Agreement Afghanistan, USIP, December 05, 2001
Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-establishment of Permanent Government Institutions

Archives

Return to Afghanistan, Alternet, USA, February 06, 2004
Derrill Bodley is on a two-week journey to meet with dozens of aid workers, UN officials and ordinary Afghans.

Female presidential candidate, Afghan News Network, January 25, 2004
Afghanistan's first female presidential candidate doctor Massouda Jalal sits in Kabul's Microrayon district and tries to estimate the political support she will receive in the country's upcoming elections.

Presidential powers cause concern, IWPR, UK, January 21, 2004
Now that Afghanistan's new constitution has been approved by the recent Loya Jirga, the biggest remaining question is how interim President Hamed Karzai will use the sweeping presidential powers he fought so hard to acquire.

The Taliban creep back, NYT, USA, January 20, 2004
Afghanistan has a fine new Constitution, but for most of its people, security remains the foremost concern.

Afghan constitution wins national unity, Dawn, Karachi, January 08, 2004
Even though some groups are unhappy with Afghanistan's new constitution, most of their demands have been born in mind. Afghan analysts consider this as a developed constitution for this part of Asia, in which Islam, democracy, and human rights all have a place.

Annan issues Afghanistan warning, BBC, UK, January 07, 2004
In a report to the Security Council, the United Nations secretary general has warned that Afghanistan's peace process has reached a critical stage and that continued violence could jeopardise national elections scheduled for June this year.

Afghan road project forges ahead, BBC, UK, August 4, 2003
Paving work is to begin shortly on the highway from the capital Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar. The road is one of the key reconstruction projects necessary to improve Afghanistan's economic and political stability.

Afghanistan recovery strong but at risk, Dewey, October 01, 2002
The U.S. Secretary of State's special envoy assessing recovery and reconstruction in Afghanistan has returned from a month long journey to the country using words like "remarkable," "encouraging" and "gratifying" to describe what he has seen in a country attempting to lift itself from the wreckage left by 22 years of occupation, war and oppression.

Security dilemmas undermine war and peace in Afghanistan Relief Web, September 19, 2002

International forces pursuing both war and peace in Afghanistan were dealt a blow this week when the US State Department indicated it was set to reject an expansion of security operations.

Major U-turn in US policy in Afghanistan, IHT, September 07, 2002
Pentagon officials recently signaled a shift in U.S. policy on Afghanistan, admitting that an expansion of international peacekeeping operations beyond Kabul is necessary.

Waging peace in Afghanistan, Christian Science Monitor, USA, February 27, 2002
The war still is going on in Afghanistan. American forces are combing mountains and villages for remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Foreign Policy in Focus, September 24, 2001
Not a shot has been fired - yet - at Afghanistan's Taliban, but the country's beleaguered population already is paying a heavy price for the ruling militia's pariah status as host to alleged terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.