On December 1, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon held a working meeting with heads of the country’s security and law enforcement agencies to discuss the situation along the Tajik–Afghan border and consider ways to strengthen its protection.

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the president was briefed on two recent armed incidents along the border, in which five people were killed and five others injured. Both attacks were launched from Afghan territory.

President Rahmon “strongly condemned the illegal and provocative actions of Afghan citizens” and instructed security forces to implement effective measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.

President orders reinforced border security

The first incident was officially confirmed by Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 27. The ministry reported that in the early hours of November 26, an attack was carried out on the camp of the mining company Shohin SM in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district, Khatlon province using firearms and a drone equipped with a grenade.

Three Chinese nationals working for the company were killed in the attack. The Foreign Ministry expressed “deep concern” and strongly condemned what it called “brutal actions by terrorist groups.” It also urged Afghan authorities to take concrete steps to ensure stability and border security between the two neighboring countries.

Tajikistan and Afghanistan's Taliban have engaged in a flurry of diplomacy in recent months to ease tensions and prevent armed clashes along their long, shared border.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, Dushanbe and Kabul have accused each other of harboring armed groups.