In the 25th episode of The Afghan Eye Podcast, Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed host Fatima Ayub: a senior political analyst with over two decades of experience working on Afghanistan in organisations like Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group and the European Council for Foreign Relations. Sangar asks Fatima about what drove her, as an Afghan woman, to study about Afghanistan, as well as the fallacies Fatima encountered when working within international organisations with regard to Afghanistan. Finally, Sangar and Fatima exchange views regarding the role of Afghan diaspora in the future of the country. Fatima Ayub on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecynicist 

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 On April 28th 1978, Afghanistan witnessed the Saur Revolution. The Saur Revolution was the name given to the communist coup d'etat launched against Afghanistan's first President: Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan, who was killed alongside 20 of his family members. The Saur Revolution inaugurated a dark period of Afghan history, plunging the country into a war from which it is yet to recover.

On the 43rd anniversary of the Saur Revolution, by popular demand, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar dissect and evaluate Daud Khan. They discuss his early life, his education and the beginnings of his political career. They also examine his ideological convictions, including his nationalism and heavy emphasis on state-driven modernisation, all of which culminated in his bloody removal from power in the Saur Revolution. 

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 Sangar and Ahmed-Waleed host Dr. William Ruger: Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and Vice President for Research and Policy at the Charles Koch Institute. Dr. Ruger was President Trump's nominee for US Ambassador to Afghanistan and was also recently published in NYT with an op-ed titled ‘Why President Biden Must Withdraw From Afghanistan’. 

Dr. William Ruger's Twitter handle: @WillRuger 

Some of the topics Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar quiz Dr. Ruger are: 
1) Dr. Ruger's experience serving in Afghanistan 
2) Why he has been so opposed to war in Afghanistan 
3) The fundamental mistakes made by the US in Afghanistan 
4) Realist foreign policy 
5) The US' moral responsibility toward promoting liberal values in Afghanistan and 'nation building' 
6) American-Afghan relations following a US withdrawal, and following a peace deal 
7) The spoilers of a peace deal 8) Afghanistan's natural resources, rugs, and trade. 

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The founder of the Afghan Eye: Ahmed-Waleed Kakar, recently published his seminal article on the Durand Line. Within just a week, the article became the most read article on The Afghan Eye website, receiving widespread praise from all quarters and from all around the world. 

In this episode, Sangar hosts Ahmed-Waleed, asking about some of the criticism his article received, and Ahmed-Waleed expands on issues surrounding the Durand Line. 

Link: https://afghaneye.org/2021/03/28/the-durand-line/

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On 3rd February 2021, the Afghanistan Study Group published a report recommending the Biden administration to keep US troops in Afghanistan past the May deadline. This will effectively violate the US-Taliban Agreement signed in February 2020. Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar scrutinize the report, its key arguments, the implications of its suggested courses of action, and the motivation of its authors. 

Link to the report: https://www.usip.org/publications/2021/02/afghanistan-study-group-final-report-pathway-peace-afghanistan

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Afghan photographer and journalist Lynzy Billing reports from Afghanistan and Iraq. Her most recent scoop was about a Taliban attack on Camp Chapman, a CIA base in Khost province of Afghanistan. 

Lynzy, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar discuss the way Afghanistan is being covered by local and international news organizations, the role of Afghan women in media portrayals of Afghanistan and the Afghan peace process. 

You can follow Lynzy's work here: 

https://www.instagram.com/lynzybilling/
https://twitter.com/LynzyBilling

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In this episode, we are reviewing Barnett Rubin's latest book. Our guest is Suzanne Schroeder, an independent researcher on Afghanistan.

Dr. Barnett R. Rubin's book is titled: ‘Afghanistan: What Everyone Needs to Know’. 

This episode contains a song based on Quincy Jones titled 'Back on the block'. 

UMG (on behalf of Universal Music Enterprises); Warner Chappell, ASCAP, ARESA, CMRRA, LatinAutorPerf, Abramus Digital, LatinAutor - PeerMusic, BMG Rights Management (US), LLC, and 3 music rights societies

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Hamid Helmandi, a specialist in urban development and agriculture, was the cofounder of the First Afghanistan Construction Company along with the family members of former president Hamid Karzai. Helmandi tells his story of being involved in a state of the art urban development project called Ayno Mina in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province. 

Below are links to Hamid Helmandi, his current position and news articles related to his story. 
 
 Abdul Hamid Helmandi, senior advisor of Afghan president Ashraf Ghani: https://aop.gov.af/dr/advisor_details/284

Hamid Helmandi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HamidHelmandi

According to several AFCO partners, Shah Wali Karzai had transferred about $55 million. “He simply opened another company, and put the money in that company,” Mahmoud Karzai said in an interview: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/world/asia/karzai-family-moves-to-protect-its-privilege.html

US Prosecutors probe Karzai’s brother: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704760704575516052903781616

Bank Fraud case of Mahmoud Karzai: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/elaborate-ruse-behind-vast-kabul-bank-fraud/2011/06/30/AGL3bmsH_story.html

Afghan president appoints Mahmoud Karzai as acting minister for Urban Development: https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/1267492683939012626?s=20

Afghan Wind Solar: http://www.afghanwindsolar.com/index.php/about-us

NPR 2008 Interview with Helmandi about Ayno Mina: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87858936&t=1603724723154

Pajhwok news item about Afghanistan Construction Company in 2018: https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2018/07/28/afco-licence-expires-main-shareholders-loggerheads
 
 
 

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King Amanullah Khan is hailed by many for his reforms and his progressiveness. Ahmed-Waleed Kakar and Sangar Paykhar take a closer look at Amanullah Khan's reforms and how they have led to the downfall of his reign in 1929. 


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In this episode of the Afghan Eye Podcast, Ahmed-Waleed and Sangar comment on president Ashraf Ghani's announcement of holding a Consultative Loya Jirga to discuss the issue of the last 400 Talib prisoners pending release as per US-Taliban Peace Agreement. 
 
 They firstly break down what a Jirga actually is, the role it has played in the evolution of Afghan society and how Afghan governments since the 18th century have saught to use the legitimacy of the Jirga as an institution for their own ends. In the context of Ashraf Ghani's recent announcement they deliberate upon why Kabul has chosen its stated course of action. 
 
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