Over the first month of the spring conscription campaign (April), Tajikistan has reached 70 percent of its spring conscription target, according to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) press center.
Meanwhile, the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), Dushanbe and more than 20 districts and cities of the country have reportedly already fulfilled their spring conscription targets.
In the territorial cross section the percentage the target reached was: Gorno Badakhshan – 100 percent; Dushanbe – 100 percent; Khatlon province – 94 percent; districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) – 93 percent; and Sughd province – 90 percent.
The spring conscription campaign is carried out from April 1 through May, and 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 two-month-long effort seeking to enlist young men aged 18-27 for the one- or two-year compulsory military service takes place twice a year, in the spring and in the autumn.
Legal changes that went into effect last year have reduced the scope for dodging military service and boosted the army’s capacity to shape the seasonal call ups.
Men aged between 18 and 27 and deemed healthy must now either accept a grim two- or one-year stint in the armed services or pay a hefty sum – set at the equivalent of around US$2,000 – to take a month-long course in military preparedness instead.
To take the paid one-month basic reserve service, Tajik young men must pay an amount equivalent to 450 calculating indicators (estimate). This year, the calculating indicator has been set at 64.00 somonis.
Young Tajiks can avoid or postpone military service if they are ill, studying at university, an only son, or if they have two children.
Some sources say the conscription target for 2022 had grown by a quarter compared to last year to reach 20,000, while usual annual conscription target in Tajikistan, according to the Ministry of Defense, is some 15,000-16,000.
According to some sources, the authorities have put pressure on hundreds of university students to enlist in the national army and even threatened them with expulsion if they refuse. It has come as the military's spring call-up is under way in the country, where many young men try to avoid going into the army. The Tajik government insists that students have joined the military on their own accord. Education officials say summer exams have moved forward for the hundreds of students who are leaving for the one year of service.
To fulfill conscription campaign, the Tajik authorities sometimes still use military recruitment raids. During two months in spring (April-May) and two months in autumn (October-November), Tajik men of serving age are routinely hauled off streets or taken from their homes and forced into cars by plainclothes law enforcement
A ‘hunt’ for persons of draft age, more commonly known as ‘raid’, which is sometimes used to catch young people, is a violation of the law. The Tajik authorities do not admit the use of raids, but ordinary citizens and analysts repeatedly expressed concern about the forced recruitment of young people, and other illegal methods used in recruiting campaigns.
