Khasan Sultonov, Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the CSTO, informed the members of the Organization's Permanent Council about the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border
07.07.2021
On July 7, 2021, under the chairmanship of the Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan, Khasan Sultonov, a meeting of the Permanent Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held via videoconferencing with the participation of the CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas.
Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the CSTO Kh. Sultonov informed the members of the Permanent Council of the Organization about the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border.
of the Kh. Sultonov, Permanent and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the CSTO, at the meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization on the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border
"Dear colleagues,
I would like to inform you about the situation on the Tajik-Afghan border in the last two weeks.
On June 21, 2021, an armed group of the Taliban attacked the Sherkhanbandar border commissariat in Kunduz province of Afghanistan. As a result of the armed clash, which lasted till 09.00 a.m. on June 22, 134 servicemen of government troops of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were forced to retreat to the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan through 3 and 4 outposts of "Panj" border guard detachment.
Our country, guided by the principles of humanism and good neighborliness, allowed the Afghan soldiers who had broken through the state border to enter the Republic of Tajikistan unhindered. It is worth noting that among the servicemen of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan there were four injured and one dead.
On June 27, 2021, an armed group of the Taliban attacked an border checkpoint in Chukchuk of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Kaldor District, Balkh Province, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
As a result of fierce fighting, 17 government troops of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were forced to retreat to the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan through Post 1 of the “Shakhritus” border guard detachment.
On July 3, 2021, at 6:30 p.m., the situation in Ovez village, Khokhon District, Shahribuzurgh District, and Ziraki village, Rogiston District, Badakhshan Province, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, escalated dramatically. These counties were completely captured by the Taliban.
More than 300 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan crossed the state border of the Republic of Tajikistan through the guarded section between the 5th frontier post “Istiklol” and the 6th frontier post “Sarigor” after fierce resistance in order to save their personnel.
On July 4, 2021, at 6:00 p.m., an armed group of the Taliban captured without fighting Khokhon District, Badakhshan Province, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
94 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan retreated and crossed the state border at the “Shokhon” section of the “Sh. Shokhin” border guard detachment in order to save their lives and entered the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan.
On July 5, 2021, the Taliban fighters took full control of the counties of Khokhon, Shikai, Nusai, Mokhimai, Shugnon and Sulton Ishkashim of the Badakhshan Province of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which have a common border of 910 kilometers in this direction with the Republic of Tajikistan.
In the course of the armed clashes with the Taliban 1037 soldiers of the Afghan government forces retreated into the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan through the border areas of Shokhon Sh. of the Shokhin district (104 people), Ruzvay (213 people) and Nulvand (83 people) of the Darwaz district, Khumrogi of the Vanj district (173 people), Khorog of the Temir district (312 people), Ishkashim (102 people) and Langar (50 people) of the Ishkashim district.
Thus, over the past two weeks, about 1,500 soldiers of Afghan government troops crossed into the Republic of Tajikistan.
Dear colleagues,
In connection with the difficult situation in the area of the border with Afghanistan, on July 5, this year, under the chairmanship of President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, a meeting of the Security Council of the Republic of Tajikistan was held.
The head of our state instructed the members of the Security Council, the heads of security and law enforcement agencies to take specific measures to ensure the security of the state and the nation on the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
It was instructed to send additional troops to the areas of the Tajik-Afghan border. The head of state also instructed to pay special attention to the prevention of violations on the state border, including the prevention of transnational crime, terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking.
The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan was instructed to mobilize 20,000 reserve troops to further strengthen the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
I would also like to inform that the President of the Republic of Tajikistan had telephone conversations with the President of Russia and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 5, 2021, in the course of which the main focus was on the sharp deterioration of the military and political situation in Afghanistan. The heads of the three CSTO member States have discussed at length the current alarming situation in the northern and northeastern provinces of Afghanistan bordering the Republic of Tajikistan. They stressed that the Tajik-Afghan section of the border was of strategic importance in ensuring the security of the Organization's southern borders.
Dear colleagues,
The Republic of Tajikistan, as a country with the longest border with Afghanistan, is taking necessary measures to contain the situation and to counter threats and challenges emanating from this country. But taking into account the current situation in the region and the fact that some sections of the border with Afghanistan are located in inaccessible mountainous terrain, it is difficult to cope with this task alone.
These circumstances require us to respond adequately within the framework of the CSTO, including taking measures to strengthen the capacity to protect the southern borders.
In this connection, the need to ensure the implementation of the Decision of the Collective Security Council (CSC) of 23 September 2013 "On Assistance to the Republic of Tajikistan in Strengthening the Tajik-Afghan Border" remains relevant.
Therefore, we would like to encourage the member States of the Organization to do their part in the full implementation of this document.
Thank you for your attention”.
The CSTO Permanent Council further reviewed and partially finalized drafts:
- Statements by the Permanent Representatives of CSTO member States to NATO on military activity in territories contiguous to the CSTO area of responsibility and its impact on Eurasian security;
- Statements of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States "On Strengthening the UN and CSTO Cooperation in the Field of Peacekeeping;
- Joint Statement of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States "On the 30th Anniversary of the Closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site.
- Joint Statement of the Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Member States on Approaches to the Participation of Representatives of Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organizations in the OSCE Events and Draft Decision of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization "On the List of Topics of Joint Statements in 2022".
The Permanent Council also considered and agreed on a CSTO CSC draft decision “On the Chairman of the CSTO Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation”. It was decided to submit it for consideration by the CSTO Ministerial Council, the Council of Ministers of Defense and the CSTO CSSC in accordance with the established procedure.
Work on these documents will continue at subsequent meetings of the CSTO Permanent Council.
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The CSTO Press Secretary Vladimir Zaynetdinov
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