At the end of August this year, the head of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, Saimumin Yatimov, made an unpublicized visit to Kabul, where he held talks with Taliban security officials. This was reported by Knews.kg, citing Radio Ozodi, the Tajik service of Radio Liberty.
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, the new Afghan government has been recognized as a terrorist organization in Tajikistan and is banned.
What was the head of the SCNS doing in Afghanistan?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SCNS of Tajikistan have not yet responded to reports from Afghan media. A source close to the Taliban's foreign ministry confirmed to Radio Ozodi that Yatimov was accompanied by Tajik diplomats on his trip.
According to the source, Yatimov met in Kabul with high-ranking Taliban members, including the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Abdul Haq Wasiq, the Attorney General, Shamsuddin Keshmi, and the Chief of the General Staff, Qari Fasihuddin.
Neither side has provided official information about Yatimov's visit. According to a source close to the Taliban's foreign ministry, the head of the Tajik SCNS was accompanied on this trip by former Tajik Ambassador to Afghanistan, Saadi Sharifi, and it was agreed that he would continue his mission in Kabul.
At the end of August, the Iranian news portal "Iraf" reported that Tajikistan would soon send its ambassador to Afghanistan to improve relations with the Taliban. According to the publication, until the ambassador's arrival, three Tajik diplomats would continue providing visa and consular services at the Tajik embassy in Kabul. "Iraf" also reported that Yatimov had visited Kabul with a peace plan.
Afghan media, citing their sources, reported that Yatimov's visit was made on the instructions of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to "strengthen bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban." According to these reports, Yatimov called the results of the trip "fruitful" upon his return.
Will a Taliban office open in Dushanbe?
One of the main topics of the meeting between the head of the SCNS of Tajikistan and the Taliban was the opening of a Taliban office in Dushanbe, media sources reported. A source in Dushanbe, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that an agreement had been reached on this matter. However, Tajikistan insisted that one of the former Afghan diplomats in Tajikistan be appointed as the Taliban representative in Dushanbe. The source also mentioned that there was a disagreement between Dushanbe and Kabul over the candidacy of two former diplomats, specifically Jawad Shola, the former chargé d'affaires of the Afghan embassy in Tajikistan.
However, Fahim Kuhdomani, a former employee of the Afghan embassy in Dushanbe now living in Canada, told Radio Ozodi that the Taliban proposed the candidacy of Asadullah Asim, one of their members, and Tajikistan is still considering the offer. Asadullah Asim, who has no diplomatic experience, is reported to be a Taliban mullah, a Pashtun, and a native of Laghman province.
According to information obtained by Radio Ozodi, before Yatimov’s visit to Kabul, two high-ranking Taliban officials visited Dushanbe – Attorney General Shamsuddin Keshmi and Chief of the General Staff of the Taliban Armed Forces, Qari Fasihuddin, to establish formal relations. The Tajik authorities have not yet commented on this.
These Taliban officials held talks in Dushanbe with high-ranking Tajik security and military officials, including the head of the SCNS, the attorney general, and the head of the Armed Forces General Staff, on relations between the Taliban and Tajikistan, prisoner exchanges, and other security and defense issues.
"China as a mediator"
Ajmal Suhail, a terrorism expert in Germany, told Afghanistan International that negotiations on establishing bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban began with China's mediation. He recalled a behind-the-scenes meeting between Tajik and Taliban authorities with the Chinese ambassador in December 2023.
According to Suhail, during his July 2024 visit to Dushanbe, Qari Fasihuddin offered Tajikistan military and counterterrorism cooperation during a meeting with Tajik Armed Forces Chief Emomali Sobirzoda.
The expert noted that Fasihuddin assured his Tajik counterpart that the Taliban would prevent the activities of the extremist group "Ansarullah" (a militant group opposed to the government in Dushanbe, mainly consisting of Tajik citizens and based in Afghanistan) and, in turn, called on Tajikistan not to support the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud.
Negotiations on establishing bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the Taliban come at a time when Dushanbe has taken an uncompromising stance toward the Taliban's rise to power in Kabul, setting conditions for recognizing this government. Among other things, one of the key...
CentralasianLIGHT.org
September 15, 2024