Afghanistan’s Taliban administration said it assured neighbouring Tajikistan on Tuesday it was ready to tighten border security and conduct joint investigations, after attacks which Dushanbe said were launched from Afghan territory killed five Chinese nationals over the past week.
In a call with his Tajik counterpart, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed regret and said Kabul was prepared to boost coordination between border forces, adding that “joint measures against malicious elements are a pressing necessity.”
“The Islamic Emirate is fully prepared to strengthen border security, conduct joint investigations, and engage in any form of coordination,” Muttaqi said, according to a statement from the Afghan foreign ministry.
He added that “an atmosphere of trust” had recently developed between the two countries and should not be undermined.
Tajik authorities said on Monday the two attacks, including one involving drones dropping grenades, had also injured five Chinese workers. China’s embassy confirmed the casualties and urged Chinese citizens to leave the frontier area.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon ordered tighter border controls following the incidents, which occurred along the remote mountainous frontier.
Chinese Presence
China is a major investor in Tajikistan, a Russia-aligned Central Asian state of around 11 million people.
China Global South China reported that China is urging Tajikistan to “take all necessary measures” to protect Chinese citizens and businesses in Tajikistan’s border area.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, meanwhile, met senior security officials in his government on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen security on the southern border with Afghanistan, whose ruling Taliban movement has expressed sorrow and promised to help find the attackers.
Chinese workers are involved in mining and construction projects in Tajikistan, which, along with other countries in Central Asia, is seeking to improve relations and develop trade with Afghanistan despite persistent security concerns. China Global South China also reported that Tajikistan used a drone to kill two suspected drug smugglers from Afghanistan in the border area last month. In August, Tajik guards and fighters from the Afghan Taliban exchanged fire.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the killings of the three Chinese workers last week and blamed that attack on “those seeking to create disorder, instability, & mistrust among the countries of the region.”
(with inputs from Reuters)
