A Taliban delegation led by Mohammad Ismail Ghaznawi, the group’s governor of Badakhshan, has travelled to Tajikistan for discussions on border coordination and related security issues.
Abdullah Farooqi, spokesperson for the Taliban Border Police, said the delegation is scheduled to meet several senior Tajik security officials. In a video message on Wednesday, Farooqi said the group would hold talks with the governor of Tajikistan’s Badakhshan autonomous region, the deputy head of the National Security Committee for border affairs, and other officials. Abdul Manan Hassan, the Taliban’s deputy military chief of the Border Police, is also part of the delegation.
Hekmatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban’s head of water and energy in Badakhshan, said the delegation had reached important understandings during the meetings. According to him, both sides agreed to curb illegal cross-border movement, exchange intelligence, establish joint border markets and strengthen mutual trust.
The visit follows a high-level Tajik delegation’s trip to Kabul on 17 November, during which Tajik officials met Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss expanding cooperation across various sectors, including diplomatic and economic ties.
Earlier, Yousuf Wafa, the Taliban governor of Balkh and a close ally of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, visited Dushanbe at Tajikistan’s invitation and called for the handover of Afghanistan’s embassy.
Tajikistan remains one of the Central Asian states with the lowest level of diplomatic engagement with the Taliban. Concerns over the presence and activity of militant groups inside Afghanistan continue to shape regional security discussions.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq Khan, and Tajikistan’s ambassador to Islamabad, Yusuf Sharifzoda, also discussed Afghanistan and ways to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation, with regional stability high on their agenda.
