Dushanbe’s Turn Towards the Taliban; Tajikistan: Your Opponents Have No Place in Our Territory

 Tajik officials, in a meeting with a high-ranking Taliban delegation headed by Mohammad Yusuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh, announced that opponents of the group will not be allowed to operate on Tajik soil.

According to Radio Hurriyat, a media outlet affiliated with the Taliban, Tajik officials, in a meeting with a high-ranking Taliban delegation headed by Mohammad Yusuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh, announced that opponents of the group will not be allowed to operate on Tajik soil.

According to this report, Major General Syedmov Syedmomin Staravich, Minister of Intelligence of Tajikistan, said in a meeting with the Taliban delegation in the city of Dushanbe:

“No group or individual whose goal is to destabilize Afghanistan will be allowed to operate in Tajikistan.”

These statements were made during the official trip of the Taliban governor in Balkh at the invitation of the government of Tajikistan; a trip that, according to sources, was aimed at expanding relations and discussing security and regional issues.

Political experts consider this position to be a sign of a softening of Dushanbe’s approach towards the Taliban and a significant change in Tajikistan’s previous policy towards the group.