Tajikistan is shaping its relations with Afghanistan based on the protection of its national interests, Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin said at a press conference in Dushanbe late last week.
“We believe that every sovereign state has the right to pursue its own policies in line with its national interests. In this context, it should be noted that many countries, including those bordering Afghanistan, are also building cooperation with this neighboring state based on their national interests,” the minister said.
According to him, Dushanbe has resumed the operation of border markets and continues to supply electricity to Afghanistan. He also noted that bilateral trade is on the rise, with trade turnover between the two countries exceeding $110 million last year.
The foreign minister stressed that Tajikistan welcomes international cooperation aimed at addressing the region’s socio-economic challenges and calls on the global community not to abandon Afghanistan amid a difficult humanitarian situation.
“Our position on Afghanistan remains unchanged. We want to see Afghanistan as a safe, stable, peaceful, and prosperous country,” Muhriddin said.
He added that in 2024–2025 Tajikistan delivered more than 6,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following a devastating earthquake.
Commenting on the increase in armed incidents along the Tajik-Afghan border over the past two months, the minister said that law enforcement agencies of both countries are working jointly to prevent such incidents. According to him, the Afghan side has stated that it will take the necessary measures to prevent a recurrence and conduct a comprehensive investigation.
“Ensuring security along the Tajik-Afghan border remains a critically important issue. For this purpose, working contacts have been established between the relevant agencies of Tajikistan and Afghanistan,” the minister emphasized, adding that both sides condemn the activities of criminal and terrorist groups in the border areas.
Earlier, the Border Troops of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) reported that they had prevented an illegal border crossing by five Afghan smugglers. During armed resistance on their part, three of the smugglers were killed, while two managed to flee back into Afghan territory.
Previously, as a result of two separate attacks launched from Afghan territory on Tajikistan’s border regions on November 26 and 30, 2025, five Chinese nationals were killed and five others were injured. Tajikistan strongly condemned the attacks and demanded that the Taliban detain those responsible. The Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the attacks were carried out by groups seeking to “create instability and distrust among countries in the region.”
According to Zafar Samad, Director of Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency (DCA), 17 armed clashes occurred last year along the Tajik-Afghan border between Tajik security forces and Afghan smugglers, compared to six in 2024. As a result, 10 Afghan nationals were killed (three in 2024), along with two Tajik border guards.
In addition, nine Afghan nationals were detained last year for attempting to smuggle narcotics into Tajikistan. Samad said that in 2025 Tajik authorities seized 2.742 tons of narcotic substances along the Afghan border, up from 1.824 tons in 2024. Of this amount, 2.566 tons were seized along the border with Khatlon Province and 186 kilograms along the border with the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
