UNIPATH STAFF
Concerned that terror groups such as Da’ish planned to use northern Afghanistan as a base for attacks, Central Asia border troop commanders pledged regional cooperation in stopping transnational violence. Representatives from countries such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to attend a meeting of the Council on Border Troop Commanders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in June 2015.
Sherali Khairulloyev, national security aide to Tajikistan’s president, noted that terrorists affiliated with the Taliban and Da’ish were becoming active in provinces close to the Tajik border. It’s in the world’s interest to stop the spread of violent extremism along the commonwealth’s 2,340-kilometer border with Afghanistan, he said, warning that terrorists could create a “zone of political instability” across Eurasia.
Turkmenistan border commander Murad Islamov also urged vigilance to prevent the region from becoming an incubator for extremism. “Our border is protected,” Islamov told his Central Asian counterparts.
News sources estimated that more than 1,000 terrorists could be using northern Afghanistan as a haven. “The ranks of the militants include members of Taliban, al-Qaida, the Islamic State [Da’ish], the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and the Ansarullo organization,” Tajik security official Rajabali Rakhmonali said.
Council delegates discussed details of regional policing operations to stop terrorism and drug trafficking, including an operation, scheduled for the second half of 2015, dubbed Border Brotherhood.
Sources: BBC, Avesta.tj, Khaama Press