This past week attacks have been launched by Afghanistan on its neighouring country Tajikistan. According to the Tajik authorities and China’s embassy in Tajikistan five Chinese nationals have been injured. While five have been killed.
China’s embassy located in Dushanbe, the capital. It has advised the Chinese companies and personnel to evacuate the border area as soon as possible.
It is being said that an armed attack targeted Chinese citizens close to Afghan border on Sunday.
On Friday, according to the Tajik authorities another border attack took place involving drones dropping grenades. This attack resulted in the death of three Chinese citizens.
A mountainous former Soviet republic, Tajikistan has a secular government and around 11 million residents. The country has tense relations with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. It has previously shared its grievances about illicit gold miners and drug smugglers working along the border.
China also shares a remote border with Tajikistan. China is a major investor in the country.
No immediate response on Monday was given by Afghanistan’s authorities to the statements by Tajiks.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon’s press service on Monday stated that he had met with the heads of his security agencies to plan and discuss how to strengthen border security.
It said that Rahmon “strongly condemned the illegal and provocative actions of Afghan citizens and ordered that effective measures be taken to resolve the problem and prevent a recurrence of such incidents”.
After independence from Moscow, Tajikistan endured a brutal civil war in the 1990s it was then when Rahmon initially rose to power.
However, they got independence from Moscow but still are closely aligned with Russia. Russia still maintains a military base there.
Tajikistan have historically backed Afghan Tajiks in their resistance against the Taliban.
Also read: Taliban Regime; A Serious Threat to Global Security
