Tajikistan’s Defence Minister, Emomali Sobirzoda, met Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir and other senior military officials during a visit to Pakistan to expand military and technical cooperation.
Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry said that Sobirzoda also held a separate meeting with Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
The ministry said Thursday that the two sides discussed military and technical cooperation and considered strengthening “friendship and brotherhood” particularly important amid regional and global instability.
Senior military officials from both countries also discussed holding joint military exercises in Tajikistan and Pakistan, exchanging experience and involving military personnel in training programmes.
According to the ministry, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to expanding military cooperation, especially in the fields of training, counterterrorism and regional security.
In August, Tajik and Pakistani special forces held their first joint counterterrorism exercise, “Friendship-2025,” at the Fakhrobod training ground of Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry in the Khatlon region. About 100 special forces personnel from both countries, airborne and infantry units, took part.
Troops practised the use of modern weapons in counterterrorism operations. Tajikistan’s Defence Ministry said such joint exercises were crucial given the threats posed by international terrorism and extremism.
In recent months, security and counterterrorism consultations between Tajikistan and Pakistan have increased. Officials from both foreign ministries met in Dushanbe in October to discuss cooperation and regional counterterrorism efforts.
In September, Mohammad Sadiq and Khisrav Sohibzoda, the special envoys of Pakistan and Tajikistan for Afghanistan, discussed the growing terrorist threat in the region. Sadiq said both sides emphasised the need to develop “a coordinated and joint strategy” to address the threat effectively.
Both Pakistan and Tajikistan have repeatedly voiced concern over Afghanistan’s security situation, saying the presence of militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Ansarullah in Afghanistan poses a serious threat to the region.
