DUSHANBE, July 17, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has refuted reports that Indian is allegedly preparing to deploy a squadron of Mi-17 Hip multi purpose helicopters, as well as some Kiran trainer aircraft, at the Ayni airfield in Tajikistan.
According to Russia’s RIA Novosti,
The Times of India
reported on that Tuesday. The paper quoted military sources as saying this is a prelude to “a larger strategic imprint” in the region, which India sees as crucial to its growing energy needs, the Russian news agency said. The “eventual aim” is to station MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft at the airbase.
Previously, India has denied media reports that it was going to use an airfield near the republic”s capital of Dushanbe, according to RIA Novosti. India took part in the renovation and upgrading of the airport, which was used during the military campaign in Afghanistan, under a three-way agreement with Tajikistan and Russia, at a cost of $25 million.
“It may be just a military outpost at the moment but will develop into a full-fledged base in the future,” the paper quoted a source as saying. “India wants a military presence in the area to keep tabs on any anti-Indian activity in the terrorism-infested Pakistan-Afghanistan region.”
In the meantime, Tahmina Khairulloyeva, the deputy head of Tajik MoD international cooperation section, said that Tajikistan’s Defense Ministry cannot confirm the information released by the Indian paper.
It is to be noted that it is not the first report about the possibility of deployment of Indian aircraft in Tajikistan.
Last February, the newspaper
Indian Express
published the similar report. That time, it reported about the completion of India”s first military base in Tajikistan. Tajikistan’s MoD denied that report as incorrect. It was not that while India has spent approximately $19 million to rebuild the Ayni airfield, there is no agreement on military cooperation between the two countries. Maruf Hasanov, the head of the MoD international cooperation section, told Asia-Plus on February 26: “All we have today is an agreement on assistance in the reconstruction of the Ayni military airfield that was signed in 2002. But this document does not envisage the use of the airfield by Indian military forces.”
