Both the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) and Khatlon Province have completed their spring military draft quotas on the very first day of the campaign. This was reported by the administrations of both regions.
Khatlon Province announced the completion of its draft plan on April 1, the first day of the campaign, while GBAO had already met its target by the beginning of the recruitment period.
Davlatali Said, the Governor of Khatlon, expressed gratitude at a ceremony for sending recruits to military service. He thanked the parents and educators of the draftees for their contributions in raising responsible and resilient young people.
The city of Bokhtar, the capital of the Khatlon province, reported fulfilling its draft target on March 31. During a meeting with recruits and their parents, Bokhtar Mayor, Abdulmajid Muminzoda, thanked the families for their readiness to support their sons in serving the country.
Furthermore, the Tojikobod district (district subordinate to the center – RRP) in the Rasht Valley also completed its military draft quota on the first day of recruitment.
Local authorities attribute the early success in meeting the draft targets to an increase in the number of volunteers, offering various benefits to the recruits, and the well-organized information campaigns.
The spring conscription campaign begins on April and lasts through May. The draft affects able-bodied male citizens in the age bracket of 18 years old to 27 years old, who are not members of the armed forces reserve. The same decree provides for the retirement from active duty of soldiers and sergeants whose service under conscription is over.
Some sources say the usual annual conscription target in Tajikistan is some 15,000-16,000.
The two-month-long effort seeking to enlist young men aged 18-27 for the two-year compulsory military service takes place twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.
Experts note that under the new military obligations law, authorities now have the right to recruit youth throughout the year, which helps meet the draft targets early in the campaign.
Young Tajiks can avoid or postpone military service if they are ill, studying at university, an only son, or if they have two children.
Recall, amendments were made to the country’s law on military service in early 2021. The amendments came into effect on February 4, 2021 and young men in Tajikistan who wish to forgo the military service may now do so by paying a fee to the government. A one-month basic reserve service is organized for those who did not perform conscript service for a fee. At the end of basic reserve service they receive military cards.
Besides, under the law on the universal military duty in new edition, graduates of universities having military department will also be drafted into the army for one year.
Only people who have done military service will be permitted to obtain employment with the government or join the army in a professional capacity.
Tajikistan’s armed forces consist of Ground Forces, Mobile Forces (paratroopers of the armed forces of Tajikistan), Air Force and Air Defense Force.
Each year, concerns are raised regarding the conditions of military service, including reports of ill-treatment of soldiers, their living conditions, and even cases of deaths within military units. Therefore, many young men in Tajikistan try to avoid conscription. One reason is that, as in many former Soviet countries, the Tajik Army is known for the brutal hazing of new recruits. There are also overwhelming claims that the rich and powerful use their clout to get their sons out of military service — leading to beliefs that conscription is only for the poor. To avoid the army, many conscript-aged men move to Russia during the twice-a-year drafts in the spring and fall. Some bribe doctors and enlistment officials secure an exemption on medical grounds.
