Taliban Seek To Resolve Afghanistan’s Challenges Through Dialogue, Says Haqqani

Abdul Qayum Naseer, spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance, told state-run national television that pension payments for some retirees have already begun. He said the process would continue until all eligible retirees receive their payments.

The ministry did not specify which institutions’ former employees have so far been paid.

After seizing power in August 2021, the Taliban suspended pension payments to about 160,000 retirees who had been receiving benefits under the previous government. The decision triggered repeated protests over the past four years, with retirees frequently demonstrating outside the General Directorate of Pensions to demand the resumption of payments.

In 2024, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada issued an eight-article decree instructing retirees to pursue their pension claims through special courts.

Separately, the Ministry of Finance announced on December 16 that pension payments would be made by January 20, 2026, to retirees from several institutions, including the ministries of finance, interior, and labour and social affairs, as well as the national electricity company, the directorate of urban water supply and sanitation, and the Taliban-controlled national television network.

Rahmon visited the Ministry of Defence on December 24 and formally opened the facilities via a video link, according to a statement posted on the website of the Tajik presidency.

The statement said the tank training ground in the Harb Maidon area has been equipped with modern educational infrastructure to train military specialists to a high professional standard. Rahmon instructed the Ministry of Defence and other security agencies to make full use of the new facilities to improve technical training.

Tajik authorities say border security efforts have intensified over the past two to three years. During that period, around 80 new border outposts equipped with military hardware have been constructed.

The move comes amid a series of attacks that Tajik officials say originated from Afghan territory. On Thursday, December 25, Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security reported an armed clash with militants who had crossed the border from Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of three suspected militants and two Tajik border guards.

Earlier this month, the press office of the Tajik presidency said two separate attacks originating from Afghanistan killed five people and wounded five others. Following those incidents, Rahmon ordered security institutions to assess the situation and propose additional measures to reinforce border defences.

Tajikistan was initially among the most vocal regional critics of the Taliban following their return to power in Kabul. In recent months, however, Dushanbe has expanded contacts with Afghan authorities and moved cautiously towards engagement while continuing to prioritise border security.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the group described the killing as an “explicit crime” and a “targeted terrorist act”.

The National Resistance Front said the incident has sparked deep anger and concern among Afghan refugees living in Iran.

General Sari, who sought refuge in Iran after the fall of Afghanistan’s former republic order to the Taliban, was killed in an attack on Wednesday evening, in central Tehran.

In recent years, he had been active in Iran advocating for the rights of former Afghan military personnel.

The group called on Iranian authorities to identify those who planned, carried out and supported the assassination and to bring them to justice.

Jamiat-e Islami: Taliban Behind the Killing

Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan, led by Salahuddin Rabbani, also condemned the assassination in a separate statement. The party said that since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, this was the second influential Afghan migrant figure to be targeted in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The statement said such killings are particularly concerning when they occur in cities where Afghanistan’s political and consular missions are under Taliban control.

Jamiat-e Islami also urged Iranian authorities to take action to identify and prosecute those responsible for such attacks.

This marks the second assassination of a senior anti-Taliban commander on Iranian soil. Previously, a commander close to Ismail Khan, one of Afghanistan’s former jihadi leaders, was killed in the city of Mashhad.

In a statement carried by Khovar, Tajikistan’s state news agency, on Thursday, the committee said three members of a terrorist organisation crossed the Afghan border and entered Tajik territory in the Shamsiddin Shohin district.

According to the statement, Tajik border guards located the militants inside Tajikistan at 11:15 a.m. on 24 December and launched an operation against them.

The committee said the militants ignored orders to surrender and opened fire. They were attempting to carry out an armed attack on one of the border posts of the Border Forces of the State Committee for National Security but were killed in a shootout.

The identities of the three militants and the name of the terrorist organisation to which they belonged have not been disclosed.
The committee said weapons and ammunition were seized from the militants.

The State Committee for National Security said this was the third armed attack, terrorist act or illegal border crossing from Afghanistan into Tajikistan in the past month that resulted in the deaths of military personnel.

Call for Taliban Apology

The committee said the repeated attacks over the past month demonstrate what it described as the Taliban administration’s serious and repeated irresponsibility in fulfilling its international commitments and its assurances to ensure security and stability along the Tajik–Afghan border and to combat terrorist organisations.

Tajik border forces said they hope the Taliban leadership will apologise to the people of Tajikistan and take effective measures to ensure security along the shared border.

The Border Forces of the State Committee for National Security said they possess full physical and combat capabilities to safeguard the country’s borders.

The statement said Tajik border guards will continue to defend the country’s frontiers with full force against external aggression and will respond decisively to terrorist groups, smugglers and any attempts to cross the border from Afghanistan.

According to the committee, the situation along the Tajikistan–Afghanistan border is currently calm, and investigations into the clash are continuing.

The press office of the president of Tajikistan confirmed in the month in November that five people were killed and five others wounded in two attacks launched from Afghanistan. Following those incidents, President Emomali Rahmon ordered security agencies to assess the situation and explore ways to strengthen border security.

Tajikistan was among the critics of the Taliban administration following the group’s return to power but has recently expanded its relations with Kabul and moved towards greater engagement.

Speaking to Russia 24 television, Overchuk said greater connectivity with southern markets would help diversify Russia’s transport and logistics routes. He said options for constructing a railway across Afghan territory are under discussion, with attention focused on both western and eastern corridors.

Overchuk added that Russian specialists are currently studying the feasibility of a railway through Afghanistan and are participating in related technical consultations.

The comments follow earlier statements by Denis Manturov, who said last year that Russia and Uzbekistan were jointly preparing a feasibility study for the proposed Trans-Afghan railway, with an emphasis on developing international transport corridors.

Subsequently, the transport ministers of Uzbekistan and Russia signed agreements to launch the development phase of the Trans-Afghan railway, which would extend to Pakistan.

Uzbekistan, which already has a direct rail connection with Afghanistan, has positioned itself as a regional logistics hub linking Russia, Central Asia and South Asia.

In November 2024, during a visit to Kabul, Overchuk told Taliban officials that Moscow wanted to participate in the Trans-Afghan railway project, describing it as a key initiative to improve connectivity across Central Asia and the wider Eurasian region.