1 forum postDUSHANBE (Asia-Plus) – With the imminent withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the rise of violence in that country, neighbouring Tajikistan is worried and preparing to prevent the much feared infiltration of Islamists.
At a meeting with government members, leaders of the President’s Executive Office and other government agencies on May 10, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon instructed to immediately take measures to secure and strengthen the protection of national borders, fight crime, especially extremism, terrorism, and illicit drugs trafficking.
On the previous day, President Rahmon also sent a message of condolence to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. In his message, he said he was “deeply saddened and immeasurably disgusted by the news of numerous casualties and injuries among civilians, including young girls, resulting from a horrific and despicable terrorist attack in western Kabul.”
“There is no forgiveness for this brutal and deadly act of violence perpetrated by the forces of evil in the last days of the blessed month of Ramadan. Strongly condemning all manifestations of terrorism and extremism, we reiterate the urgent need to strengthen the merciless fight against these global threats of our time”, the text reads.
Emomali Rahmon extended heartfelt condolences and support to the families and friends of those killed on behalf of himself and the entire nation of Tajikistan, and wished all the victims a speedy recovery.
A series of explosions near a government school in western Kabul killed at least 60 people and injured dozens more, according to Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry. The attack happened toward evening of May 8 in the predominantly Shia-populated Dashti Barchi area. Most of the victims were female students aged 11-15, who were leaving the school when the blasts occurred. The girls at this school were studying on the second shift separately from the boys.
The Islamic radical Taliban denied any involvement in the attack, and blamed it on the ISIS terrorist group. The blasts occurred just before an iftar ceremony (breaking the fast) began.
Анастасия (11 May 2021, 15:36)
The civil war of the 90s was devastating for Tajikistan. A civil war of course with the Islamists who hoped to unite with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
According to conservative estimates, the civil war cost Tajikistan more than $10 billion at the exchange rate of the time]. The country’s economy during the civil war lost and gained (due to a paralysed economy and other reasons) a further few billion dollars. Before the collapse of the USSR, the Tajik SSR was one of the poorest Soviet republics, and as a result of years of civil war, Tajikistan actually became one of the poorest countries in the world, although it was not included on the official UN list of least developed countries. During the war, over 60 medical institutions, dozens of schools and other educational institutions, and dozens of social and cultural facilities were destroyed. The health situation deteriorated.