Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Azim Ibrohim and Kyrgyz ice-Premier Jenish Razakov met in the Kyrgyz city of Batken on October 16 to discuss ways to intensify the work on delimitation and demarcation of the disputable stretches of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border.
The two noted that a working group will function to find solution to the issues of delineation of the disputable stretches of the mutual border as soon as possible, kabar.org says.
Ibrohim and Razakov, who head Tajik and Kyrgyz delegations on delimitation and demarcation of the mutual border, reportedly gave specific instructions to expert groups on topographic and legal issues operating in border areas of the two countries.
Many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet.
The border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The countries share 971 kilometers of border – of which only 504 kilometers has reportedly been properly delineated.
This year alone, there have reportedly been at least half a dozen cases of violence, typically stemming from differences among local residents about how to share land and resources.
The latest incident on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border occurred on September 16 in an area adjacent to the Tajik settlement of Ovchi-Qalacha, not far from the northern Tajik city of Khujand, and the Kyrgyz village of Maksat. Troops on both sides exchanged gunfire in a confrontation that left at least four dead and dozens injured.
The shoot-out broke in evening following a dispute over construction at a non-demarcated section of the border and both sides blamed each other for starting the shooting. The clash reportedly stopped at 9:30 pm and officials were taking measures to prevent further escalation.
Two-and-a-half hour’s negotiations between Tajik and Kyrgyz delegations on border issues that took place in Ovchi-Qalacha yesterday morning reportedly led to some preliminary breakthroughs. The Kyrgyz side pledged to pull down a lookout tower built in a location near where fighting occurred and the Tajik side said it will not build a lookout tower near the same spot. Both sides reportedly agreed to withdraw military reinforcements from the flashpoint by 6:00 pm of September 18.
