Imangali Tasmagambetov, Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), has labelled Afghanistan as a potential source of terrorism and drug trafficking threats to Central Asia.
He stated that the CSTO’s decision to reinforce Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan stems from concerns over the risk of terrorism spreading into the region.
Speaking on Friday during the fourth meeting of parliamentary committee heads from CSTO member states, Tasmagambetov underscored that the adoption of a targeted interstate programme to strengthen the Tajik-Afghan border reflects a shared understanding among member states regarding potential security threats to Central Asia.
According to a CSTO press release, he highlighted that terrorism, extremism, and drug trafficking primarily originate from Afghan territory and urged closer collaboration among the Parliamentary Assembly of CSTO member states to safeguard regional security.
The CSTO, a regional security alliance, comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan as permanent members.
Afghanistan Remains a Key Concern for CSTO Leadership
On 30 January, Andrey Serdyukov, head of the CSTO Joint Staff, also identified Afghanistan as a significant security threat to the region. He warned that Afghanistan remains the primary source of instability, radical ideology, terrorism, and drug trafficking in Central Asia.
The Taliban administration, however, has consistently denied the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, rejecting such allegations from international bodies and regional security organisations.
