UK in Afghanistan » Kabul

I travelled yesterday with 20-odd European Ambassadors to Herat. It was the first such joint visit we’ve done, and a major sign of our collective commitment to this part of Afghanistan and to the country as a whole. We met Governor Saba who, as ever, gave us a clear and compelling account of his strategy for the Province. We talked about developing agriculture, infrastructure, and the private sector; and about … Read more »Europe goes to Herat

When I got this job in Kabul, I didn’t think I’d be going to many rock concerts.  But as I write this, my ears are still ringing from the thumping metal sounds of one of this afternoon’s acts at Sound Central, Kabul’s rock and alternative arts festival. Afghan bands such as Dirty Jeans, White Page, Kabul Dreams and Hybrid Pharaohs have been thrilling a packed crowd of their young compatriots, … Read more »Turn It Up

This week we have a guest blog by Yunos Bakhshi of the Afghanistan Astronomy Association. The Afghanistan Astronomy Association (AAA) is an amateur group. We work across Afghanistan and especially with children. We want to help to make astronomy even more popular in Afghanistan. We believe that through astronomy we can help to promote science and scientific inquiry. We organise astronomy classes in different schools. We do organize moon and planet observations in … Read more »Astronomy in Afghanistan

In Helmand today, Brigadier Bob Bruce formally hands over command of the British task force to Brigadier Rupert Jones.  The troops of the Fourth Mechanized Brigade will head home, and their successors in the First Mechanized Brigade begin their deployment in Afghanistan. In one sense this is just a regular military transition – the seventeenth such handover, in fact, since British troops went into Helmand.  But there are a few … Read more »Handing Over

Action on landmines is important for Afghanistan. Three decades of war left mines and unexploded ordnance across the country. The sight of people who’ve lost limbs to landmines , many of them children, is a tragic but all too common one on the streets of Kabul and around the country. In 2011, 380 Afghans were killed by landmines. 250 of them were children. Afghanistan remains the most densely-mined country in … Read more »Mine Awareness Day

Maps are a big feature of many offices and conference rooms around Kabul. Many of them show Afghanistan laid out against a white background.  It’s as if the country were an island in a faraway sea. I always object to those ones.  Any map which doesn’t show Afghanistan among its neighbours gives a fundamentally wrong impression of the country, its history, and its future challenges and opportunities. For millennia, this … Read more »The Heart of Asia

I chaired a fascinating discussion at the Embassy this week on the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the lessons it offered for us today. We were lucky enough to be joined by an Afghan general who fought during the 1980s; a distinguished politician; and a Russian diplomat who served then in the Soviet Embassy in Kabul. Here’s what I took away. On security, the general felt that in some senses … Read more »The Lessons of History

I write on departure from Afghanistan following my second visit here. I am encouraged by some of the progress I see. Visiting Helmand and Kabul I met a wide variety of people, including some inspirational female and youth leaders. One of my key priorities as Minister responsible for Afghanistan is to continue to push for change to improve the lives of the women and girls of this country and to … Read more »International Women’s Day

A Guest Blog by Sarah Montgomery, Senior DFID Representative & Development Team Leader, Helmand Since I returned from leave a great deal has happened – best of all is that I am now the proud owner of a third of a share of a b…eautiful (or bootiful as Bernard Matthews would say) black iridescent feathered turkey hen. She was gifted by me and my fellow investors to the US Marine … Read more »A Guest Blog by Sarah Montgomery, Senior DFID Representative & Development Team Leader, Helmand

President Karzai travelled to the UK last week for a summit meeting with Pakistani President Zardari and our Prime Minister David Cameron. The Prime Minister invited his guests to talks not in London but at his country residence at Chequers, in the beautiful surroundings of the Chiltern hills. The aim was to create a more intimate setting for difficult but vital conversations about the Afghan-led peace process. My sense is … Read more »The view from the summit