Tajik President Emomali Rahmon doubled down on his criticism of the Taliban in an address to the UN General Assembly on September 23, warning that “various terrorist groups are actively using the unstable military-political situation in Afghanistan in order to strengthen their positions.”
“We are seriously concerned and regret that Afghanistan is once again on its way to becoming a platform for international terrorism,” he said.
Taliban patience has been strained by those asides and also, most likely, a steady trickle of reports about Tajikistan offering a haven and assistance to exiled Afghan groups opposed to the new government in Kabul.
“[Compared to NATO], 30,000 Tajik soldiers and a 6,000-strong Russian army base may not look like such a major challenge,”
Taliban Defence Minister
The picture shared by an OSINT Twitter handle shows one of the Tajik army’s military parades in the town of Khorog. The parade was done less than 4 km away from the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon watched and addressed the military parade, which was held on September 27 in Darvaz district close to the border with Tajikistan, Avesta reported
Location: 37°29’26.8″N 71°33’32.2″E which is at the doorstep of Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.
“Taliban Dy Governor told media that they have created an exclusive battalion of suicide bombers that will be deployed to the borders of Afghanistan particularly in Badakhshan province.” Badakhshan borders Tajikistan and China.
The deputy governor, Mullah Nisar Ahmad Ahmadi said that the exclusive battalion is named Lashkar-e-Mansoori “Mansoor army” and will be deployed to the borders of the country.
Ahmadi has said that the battalion is the same as the one that would conduct suicide attacks targeting the security forces of the previous Afghan government.
“The defeat of the US would not be possible if not for this battalion. These brave men would wear explosive waistcoats and would detonate the US bases in Afghanistan. These are people with literally no fear who devote themselves for the consent of ALLAH.” Said Ahmadi.
Along with the Lashkar-e-Mansoori, Badri313 is another battalion that is known as one of the most equipped and modern military groups that are deployed in Kabul International Airport.
Badri313 is also said to be comprised of all suicide bombers.
Meanwhile, Russia said it had heard of reports that Tajikistan and Afghanistan were sending troops to their common border and urged them to resolve any dispute in a mutually acceptable manner, RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry.
Russian external affairs ministry tweeted “Zaytsev: We are observing with concern the growing tension in Tajik-Afghan ties. There have been reports of both sides pulling armed forces towards the border.
❗️ We call on #Dushanbe & #Kabul to search for mutually acceptable options to resolve the situation.”
💬 #Zaytsev: We are observing with concern the growing tension in Tajik-Afghan ties 🇹🇯🇦🇫. There have been reports of both sides pulling armed forces towards the border.
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) September 30, 2021
❗️ We call on #Dushanbe & #Kabul to search for mutually acceptable options to resolve the situation. pic.twitter.com/nIjDtAtpSE
Meanwhile, Eurasianet reported the following: With the open confrontation limited so far to exchanges of words and some sabre-rattling, the situation appears far from volatile. Tajik political analyst Parviz Mullojanov, however, argues that the potential danger posed by the Taliban should not be discounted out of hand.
“Large-scale provocations on the border could be viewed by the Taliban as a means of putting pressure on the leadership of Tajikistan and to force it to change its position and withdraw its support for the National Resistance Front,” Mullojanov told Eurasianet.
With the humiliation of NATO under their belts, the Taliban may feel emboldened to hold its own against other antagonists.
“[Compared to NATO], 30,000 Tajik soldiers and a 6,000-strong Russian army base may not look like such a major challenge,” Mullojanov said.
While it is not in keeping with the Taliban’s record or stated intentions to undertake hostile actions against a neighbouring nation, the murky role that Tajikistan is said to be playing in supporting anti-Taliban forces is a problematic imponderable.
And non-military resolutions for Afghanistan’s ongoing instability are looking more distant than they were a few weeks ago.
When Rahmon met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan on September 17, he expressed a desire to see a “timely conclusion to conflict and tensions in the Panjshir province [through the declaration of] a ceasefire.” The Tajik government to that end offered to host negotiations in Dushanbe between the Taliban and ethnic Tajik opposition formations based in the Panjshir.
A diplomatic source in Dushanbe told Russian news agency RIA Novosti on September 29, however, that efforts to broker the start to talks have made no progress.
“There is still no movement on the issue of negotiations in Tajikistan between the Afghan resistance and the Taliban,” the diplomatic source is cited as having said.
