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Cutting and Running or Staying the Course in Afghanistan
March 01, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan of today is a melting bowl of various cultures that are in a wild collision. The widespread demonstrations of recent days over the issue of burning of a few copies of Holy Quran highlighted the deeper realities of an Afghan society that many believed has changed a lot since 2001. What we saw and was on full display was a ...
Emerging Security Threats in the United Kingdom
March 01, 2012 | Musa Khan Jalalzai
The United Kingdom is under threat from home-grown extremist and international terrorist networks. The incidents that occurred in 2011 and the recent court decision against some violent extremist elements can be classified as a new wave of subversion. The August 2011 and other incidents raised public concern and endangered ...
Sectarian Violence in Pakistan
March 01, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
According to reports, a gunman opened fire on a passenger bus in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan on Tuesday, killing 18 people on board. The bus was traveling from Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to the northern town of Gilgit. It is said that attack held in an area inhabited by two Sunni tribes about 165 km north of ...
The Tyranny of “Too Big to Fail” Banks
February 29, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
One of most fundamental problems with how the financial crisis in the West has been managed is the issue of "too big to fail" banks. The argument goes thus: major banks and financial corporations such as the Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and a number of others are too big and too "systematically important" to be allowed to ...
Public Stratification and Afghan Culture
February 29, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
The social and political changesin Afghanistan, in the post-Taliban scenario, have been able to cast diverse effects on Afghan society. Among different changes the stratification of society into rich and power classes is a dominant one. The differences have been intensified and are affecting the society as a whole. It has not been the ...
Peace & Political Stability need Accountability
February 29, 2012 | Abdul Samad Haidari
Living in the ruins of 4 decades of war we have only seen the temper of bloodshed, abhorrence and destruction, disability and desperation, not stability and progress. The aggressive darkness of the so-called policy is never the whole story, yet it is the outset that has begun to end not in a prognosticated period. Every citizen of a country tries ...
Economic Transition Remains Neglected
February 27, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan has been at the bottom of the United Nation's Human Development Index for long time now. In the areas of health, education, income, literacy and other indicators, it has been lagging behind other countries. Consistently, it has ranked within the bottom 8 percentile of the countries – a fact borne out by the various reports being ...
Afghanistan’s Public Administration in Need of Good Managers
February 28, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
One of the most serious problems in Afghanistan of today is management, or to be precise, lack of quality management in its sprawling public administration system. Management, today, is both a science and an art. Managers and executives in top business schools around the world pin attention and resources on learning the latest and ...
Military Withdrawal is not a Sign of Failure
February 28, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
Nowadays, two diametric opposite reasons are given for the US and NATO military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Either of them seems extreme-like notions. On one hand, it is said that US and NATO military withdrawal is just a desperate struggle for face-saving disengagement and leaving Afghanistan to the hands chaotic forces. On the other hand ...
Killing to Secure the Status
February 28, 2012 | Abdul Samad Haidari
>Civilization and modernity should be based on the sound state of mind that should develop the human relationship between each other and diminish the very gap between haves and have-nots. It is generally assumed that the ongoing human development at any point is related to poverty. With the increasing advancement and investment on the better ...
Scared of the Time to Come
February 27, 2012 | Abbas Daiyar
Death toll has reached 30 in the sixth consecutive day of demonstrations against the Qur'an burning incident at Bagram. It always starts from Parwan. Last year's demos were also instigated from there, though in a different story when a local Afghan paper recycling factory was attached by locals accusing them to have used sacred texts with ...
The Meeting between Mr. President and Religious Scholars
February 27, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
The head of General Afghan Clergies Council, Mawlavi Qeyammudin Keshaf, along with some other religious scholars from Nangarhar province, in a meeting with President Karzai has asked him to get the United States provide insurance that desecration of any kind would not be repeated once again. They also appreciated Mr. President for his ...
Afghanistan’s Uphill Task – Meeting a Plethora of Challenges
February 26, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
One of the most formidable challenges ahead of Afghanistan of today is to consolidate its nascent democracy while preserving and further building on the achievements of the past one decade. This is no easy challenge as Afghanistan continues to be heavily dependent on the assistance provided by the international community. Over the past one ...
Getting Tougher on Syria
February 26, 2012 | Nasruddin Hemati
Syria continues hitting top of the world news and concern. President Bashar Al-assad government carries on crackdown against armed and unarmed protestors across Syria. Opposition groups encourage anti-Assad regimes to help them launch a widespread military resistance to topple down the dictator. Western powers treat the problem with ...
Pakistan Puts a Step Forward on Afghanistan
February 26, 2012 | Mohd Ahsan
On Friday, Pakistan moved a step ahead of its usual stance on Afghanistan by urging the Afghan insurgents groups to join the peace and reconciliation process of Afghan government. Since long, Pakistanis stance has been: "We want peace and prosperity in Afghanistan, as a stable Afghanistan is in our best national ...
More than a Religious Sentiment
February 25, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghans are battling rising prices and increasing cost of living, high unemployment, a difficult and long winter and, on top of that, a population explosion of young Afghans who need jobs and decent livelihoods a few years from now. It is easy to despair. Poverty and destitution is still a reality of life for millions ...
The Hypocrisy of the Afghan Rioters
February 25, 2012 | Hadi Zaher
Protests rallies are the most common form of expression of mass opinion and often of discontent regarding political, economic and social issues in modern societies. Protestors in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and the rest of the Middle East took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to fight long standing dictatorships, a ...
Constitution: Discrimination and Privilege Among Afghans is Forbidden
February 25, 2012 | Mohd Ahsan
Afghan society is a men-dominated society where men have the upper hand and almost all the decisions of family are made by men and women have very little right to have a say or meddle in the affairs of the family and oppose what has been decided by men. The parents are the decision makers of their sons and daughters, even if ...
The Second Bailout for Greece and the Raging Crisis
February 23, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The happenings in Greece and a number of other European countries such as Portugal and Spain are indeed grim. The Geek people are losing it and losing it fast and painfully. Greece and a number of other European countries are reeling under a ...
A Hard Road Ahead to go After U.S Leaves
February 23, 2012 | Abdul Samad Haidari
NATO's decade mission of war on terror in Afghanistan seems gloomy, measuring their long-term devotion in the fight against violence and discrimination. The current status of Afghanistan seems likely compared with a decade back, when the Taliban was ruling. There seems considerable achievement in so many aspects of life, such as human rights, education ...
Beyond the Beauty of Snowfall in Kabul
February 23, 2012 | Farzana Rashid Rahimi
The news of "kids dying of cold in refugee camps in Kabul" hit the media and shook hearts; maybe not of many people, but at least of a few. It was around 12 pm in a cold noon of February. Looking for the group of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that I had heard were living near the Kabul Museum, we drove around ...
The Chaotic Parliament and Fracture of Democracy
Febraury 22, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The nascent democracy in Afghanistan is struggling to gain traction and get off the ground of seemingly insurmountable challenges that confront it today. The bizarre happenings in the parliament a few days ago were indeed appalling. The controversies surrounding the proposed impeachment of two ...
The Certain Uncertainties
Febraury 22, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
The contemporary socio-political scenario in Afghanistan and the future of affairs seem to be going through a very foggy atmosphere. Nothing seems to be getting clear and evident. The ambiguities are casting a very dark shadow that is incapacitating the vision to see the destination. The deadline for withdrawal is getting closer with each ...
The Stigma of Terrorism for Tehran
Febraury 22, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
It has been decades that words of 'terrorism' and 'terror' have entered into global, social, psychological and political literature, and social scientists are struggling to find reasons behind why groups and individuals turn into terror activities. However, terror-like activities can be traced long back into history as there ...
No End of History and No Last man - Fukuyama Backtracks
Febraury 21, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The world, today, is going through a historic era whose repercussions will stay with mankind for generations to come. The decades ahead will define the future of humanity and how the lives of billions of people worldwide will be scripted for generations to come. The challenges ahead of humanity, at this ...
The Escalating Frustration
Febraury 21, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
The frustration seems to be rising in Afghanistan's Presidential office regarding the reconciliation process with Taliban and the future of Afghanistan. The government does not seem to be in a very clear position regarding its stand about the socio-political scenario. The ambiguities are not only clear from the different incidents ...
Taliban and the future of Afghanistan
Febraury 21, 2012 | Nazir Hussain Merzaie
Afghanistan is the heart of Asia - a country with a lot of honor and precious treasure. But who is the real enemy of peace in Afghanistan? In response to this difficult question we can only mention the name of ''Taliban Regime'' and their supporters. Taliban are such as people who do not recognize themselves. So, how can they ...
The Tri-lateral Meeting and Ambiguities
Febraury 20, 2012 | Jawad Rahmani
The two-day long trilateral meeting among heads of the states of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai ended and they took part in a joint news conference late Friday, February 17, 2012. The discussion generally circulated around peace and stability in the region and tightening economic ...
Freezing Cold and Afghan Children
Febraury 20, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
As the current wave of extremely cold and snowy weather continues in Kabul and northern and central provinces, more people are being victimized by it. As there are many who do not have the basic requirements of life and the facilities to fight against such an extreme weather, the concerns have increased. The poor ...
Uncertain Future of Press Freedom in Afghanistan
Febraury 20, 2012 | Ahmad Quraishi
Press freedom is one of the important achievements of the past ten years of current government of Afghanistan, which has been obtained with the involvement and support of the international community. Now that the gradual withdrawal of the international troops are speeding up and the talks with the Taliban, who from the roots of ...
The Outlook of Afghanistan Beyond 2014
Febraury 19, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
Afghanistan has been at the lap of the international community over the past one decade. Significant improvements in various spheres as diverse as economic development to human rights to promotion of political pluralism have been achieved. The challenges ahead, nonetheless, are formidable; in fact so massive that the future of ...
Time to Get Pragmatic
Febraury 19, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
One of the most important aspects of endeavors for a peaceful life in Afghanistan is its relations with the neighboring countries. It is not possible for Afghanistan to fight the menace of terrorism alone. It requires the support and cooperation of the neighboring countries to a great extent. International community has been playing a dominant role ...
Taliban Infiltrators in ANA
Febraury 19, 2012 | Abbas Daiyar
The Defense Ministry is uncertain about whether to implement a new policy draft nationwide, asking all members of the Afghan National Army whose families live in Pakistan, to bring them to Afghanistan or leave the Army. In response to the recent rise of infiltrators and incidents of ANA soldiers turning up their weapons on ISAF ...
The Surge of Unrealistic and Clichéd Notions about Taliban
Febraury 18, 2012 | Mehdi Rezaie
The conflict in Afghanistan, now in its fourth decade, is one of the most complex and longest in the world's contemporary history. In comparison with other such conflicts, the one in Afghanistan stands out as a peculiar one in which the line between internal civil strife and external aggression is blurred. The mosaic of stakeholders ...
“Good Governance” and Afghanistan
Febraury 18, 2012 | Dilawar Sherzai
Afghanistan is going through a transition period which involves the transfer of security responsibilities from international troops to Afghan authorities. At the same time it is being considered that transition of security arrangements alone would not solve the issues in Afghanistan; rather the overall scenario has to go ...