DUSHANBE, March 26, 2015, Asia-Plus — World powers such as the United States and Russia are interested in spread of so-called forecasts on threats that are allegedly posed by Islamic State (IS), Taliban and others militants to Central Asia’s nations, first of all Tajikistan, Tajik independent expert on terrorism Davlatkhoja Nazirov, who is veteran of Tajikistan’s security services, told Asia-Plus in an interview on March 26.
According to him, the main objective of the spread of such rumors and forecasts on external threats is in making Tajikistan more pliant on the regional policy issues.
“Terrorists of every stripe are fully aware that the Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member nations and in some cases the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations will protect security of Tajikistan alongside the Tajik national army, and only madmen can declare war to these forces,” said the expert. “Neither Islamic State nor Taliban militants will go far from Afghanistan.”
We will recall that the Crisis Group (ICG) noted in its January 20 report,
Syria Calling: Radicalization in Central Asia
, that the Central Asian countries need to develop a credible, coordinated action plan to counter the threats posed by Islamic State militants and “growing radicalism” in the region.
The ICG says the governments of Central Asia’s countries have done little to address a threat as intricate as radical Islam. ICG urged the governments to improve security coordination, as well as to liberalize religious laws and provide greater economic opportunities for young people.
Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Anatoly Antonov, told reporters in Moscow on March 5 that the IS group already had a presence in Afghanistan.
Antonov said that the IS militant group posed a threat to Russia”s partners in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional alliance comprising Russia and five other post-Soviet states, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The main threat posed by the militants is to Tajikistan, the Russian military official noted.
Because of the situation, Antonov said Russia is “making efforts” to bolster the Russian military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
