Tajikistan sabre rattling towards the Taliban

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 29 Oct 2021 by Alex Teddy
Tajik troops have massed on the border with Afghanistan, Tajikistan's longest border. The poverty-stricken country of 5 million cannot beat Afghanistan, which has 32 million people. The Taliban has also inherited state-of-the-art military technology that the US left behind. Some say that the Taliban does not have the technical know-how to maintain the choppers and artillery pieces. But Pakistani and even Chinese technicians might be able to do it for them. The Taliban has a very cordial relationship with Pakistan, which in turn is an ally of China.Heroin from Afghanistan is smuggled into Tajikistan and from there across Russia to Europe. Some Tajik border guards, customs officers and police officers are bribed to allow this. Tajikistan is 99% Sunni Muslim. However, Tajikistan is strictly secular. Even beards are disapproved of. Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and China have functioning embassies in Kabul even though they have not recognized the Taliban. It is said that Tajikistan backs the ousted Afghan government. The Tajiks deny this. Tajikistan is certainly hostile to the Taliban whereas all the other countries adjacent to Afghanistan accept the Taliban as the de facto government.President Rahmon of Tajikistan has been inveighing against the Taliban in every speech for over 2 months. That includes orations unconnected to Afghanistan. He says that the Afghan government needs to include representatives of all ethnic groups. That Taliban is overwhelmingly drawn from the Pashto speaking people, who are a plurality of the Afghans. Ethnic Tajiks are 20% of the Afghan population. Rahmon claims the percentage is much higher. Rahmon says that he cares about Tajik Af...

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