KEY POINTS
- Five killed in deadly Afghan–Tajik border clash this week.
- Three terrorists crossed illegally into Tajikistan, officials say
- Two Tajik border guards died during armed confrontation
- UN flags Jamaat Ansarullah, ISKP presence inside Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Saturday they are working with neighbouring Tajikistan to investigate a deadly border incident earlier this week that left five people dead, including two Tajik border guards.
Earlier, Tajikistan said on Thursday that three members of what it described as a “terrorist” group had illegally crossed into the Central Asian country through Khatlon province, which borders Afghanistan.
Tajik security forces killed the three intruders during an ensuing clash, but two Tajik border guards were also killed.
Joint investigation launched
Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said Kabul had launched a formal inquiry into the incident and was coordinating closely with Tajik authorities.
“We’ve started serious investigations into the recent incidents on Tajik soil,” Muttaqi told an event in Kabul. He said he had spoken with Tajikistan’s foreign minister and that both sides were working together to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“We’re concerned that some malicious circles want to destroy relations between two neighbouring countries,” he added, without providing further details.
Afghanistan and Tajikistan share a rugged, mountainous border stretching approximately 1,350 kilometres (839 miles). Relations between the two countries have remained strained since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Unlike other Central Asian leaders, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has been openly critical of the Taliban and has repeatedly urged them to respect the rights of ethnic Tajiks living in Afghanistan.
Security concerns along the frontier have intensified in recent months. Tajik authorities said at least five Chinese nationals were killed and several others wounded in two separate attacks near the Afghan border in late November and early December.
UN security warning
A United Nations report released in December warned that the jihadist group Jamaat Ansarullah has fighters deployed across several regions of Afghanistan and aims primarily to destabilise Tajikistan. Dushanbe has also expressed concern over the presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan.
