KEY POINTS
- Tajikistan confirms five Chinese nationals killed and five injured in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan.
- The assaults targeted a Chinese-run company’s camp near the Istiqlol border post.
- President Emomali Rahmon orders reinforced border security and condemns the attacks.
- Analysts warn attacks from Afghan-based terrorist groups could threaten regional stability.
DUSHANBE: Tajik authorities and the Chinese embassy in Dushanbe confirmed on Monday that five Chinese nationals were killed and five others injured in a series of attacks launched from across the Afghan border over the past week.
The assaults targeted a Chinese-run company’s camp near the Istiqlol border post, prompting the embassy to advise Chinese workers and companies to leave the area immediately.
Strained ties with Afghan Taliban
Tajikistan, a mountainous Central Asian state of about 11 million people, has long had strained ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban administration.
Authorities in Dushanbe have previously raised alarms about drug traffickers and illegal gold miners operating along the remote border.
China, which shares its own rugged and sparsely populated border with Tajikistan, is one of the country’s largest foreign investors.
Afghan authorities did not immediately respond on Monday to Tajikistan’s account of the recent attacks.
However, the Afghan Taliban foreign ministry last week attributed the violence to an unspecified group seeking to foment instability and said it was prepared to cooperate with Tajik officials, Reuters news agency reported.
Reinforced border protection
According to President Emomali Rahmon’s press office, Rahmon met with senior security chiefs on Monday to review measures for reinforcing border protection.
The statement said the president “strongly condemned the unlawful and provocative actions of Afghan citizens and instructed that firm steps be taken to address the situation and prevent similar incidents in the future.”
Tajikistan, which suffered a devastating civil war in the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, remains closely aligned with Russia, which maintains a military base in the country.
Millions of ethnic Tajiks — a Persian-speaking community — reside across the border in Afghanistan, and Tajikistan has historically supported Afghan Tajik factions opposed to the Taliban.
Last year, a similar attack near the Afghan border claimed the life of one Chinese worker, raising further concerns over the safety of foreign investors.
Action against Afghan-based terrorist groups
Afghanistan’s neighbour, Pakistan, has also repeatedly urged the Taliban authorities in Kabul to take effective action against terrorist groups based in Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban regime failed to act against the terrorist groups, including the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has increased.
Security analysts warn that without concrete action against terror groups operating from Afghan soil, such attacks could endanger foreign projects and investments across Central Asia, undermining regional stability and economic cooperation.
