DUSHANBE, March 4, 2014, Asia-Plus – Kyrgyzstan is expected to open border crossing points (BCPs) on its common border with Tajikistan tomorrow morning.
A well-informed source in the Tajik government says an agreement on this subject was reached here on March 3 a meeting of the Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for demarcation and delimitation of disputed segments of mutual border.
According to him, the sides also reached an agreement on non-use of weapons by border guards and law enforcement officers in the event of emergency of contingent situations on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.
We will recall that the meeting ended with signing of a protocol on continuation of work of relevant commissions for settlement of the situation in the disputed areas of the border.
The protocol was inked by Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon and Kyrgyz Deputy Minister Tokon Mamytov, who co-chaired the meeting.
The meeting was held behind closed doors and the sides reportedly came to an agreement on construction of two bridges in the disputed areas on the Isfara stretch of the border. One of the bridges will be built by Tajikistan and the other one will be built by the Kyrgyz side.
The sides also agreed to hold the next round of border talks in late March in Tajikistan. It will take place in Dushanbe or in Isfara.
The previous meeting of the Tajik-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission for demarcation and delimitation of disputed segments of mutual border was held in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on February 15.
The Bishkek meeting reportedly discussed the results of the work carried out by the joint working groups in disputed areas on the Isfara stretch of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border from February 5 to February 10.
During the meeting that took place in Bishkek on January 31, Alimardon and Mamytov agreed the two countries” working groups on border delimitation must expedite their activities.
Five Kyrgyz border guards, one Kyrgyz policeman, and two Tajik border guards were hospitalized with injuries on January 11 after tensions escalated into exchanges of gunfire along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. The clash started when Tajiks protested Kyrgyzstan’s construction of a bypass road through a disputed area. Tajikistan has requested to halt the construction of the road until the border is delimited.
Kyrgyzstan recalled its ambassador to Tajikistan and unilaterally closed border crossing points (BCPs) on its common border with Tajikistan.
