DUSHANBE: The recent security incidents along the border with Afghanistan prompted the Tajikistan authorities to discuss the deployment of Russian forces to patrol the border with them jointly.
According to foreign news outlets, the government of Tajikistan has already started negotiations with Russia as well as the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) about the organization of joint patrols. With this step, the personnel of the Russian military are to be sent to the border that separates the two countries, in order to help with the security of a very unstable region that was the target of some adversaries living on the other side of the border.
Thus, within the last seven days, the border areas of Tajikistan, where the attacks have come from Afghanistan, have witnessed the killing of five Chinese nationals and the injuring of five others.
In a growing threat alarm response, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Monday called an emergency meeting with top-level security officials to discuss the situation. The sources of the Tajik Security Council informed that the government is negotiating with Russia the dispatch of Russian military units from the largest foreign military base near the capital Dushanbe for border assistance.
The military base is the largest military facility of the Russian armed forces outside of Russia and its deployment can significantly change the situation along the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border which is 1,344 km long. While the negotiations are still ongoing, a decision on the issue is expected to be made by the end of the week. Thus, we think that Russia is likely to provide air reconnaissance along with border guards’ support by helicopters.
This step is a response to the security situation in Afghanistan and its consequences for the Central Asian region. Since Tajikistan has a long and permeable border with Afghanistan, the country has been protesting against the cross-border attacks and in this way calling for regional security and the involvement of Russia.
