Tajikistan’s Prosecutor-General Habibullo Vohidzoda said attacks launched from Afghan territory on border districts of Tajikistan, which left two Tajik border guards and five Chinese nationals dead, were carried out by criminal groups seeking to “undermine our relations with the Chinese government.”
Speaking at a news conference in Dushanbe late last week, Vohidzoda referred to armed clashes that took place in late 2025 in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district in the Khatlon province and the Darvoz district in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO)..
“Chinese citizens are engaged in road construction. Why kill them? This indicates that there are forces that do not want peace and stability or are trying to damage our relations with China. We will investigate and clarify all circumstances within the framework of criminal proceedings,” the prosecutor general said.
He added that criminal cases have been opened and investigations are ongoing. According to Vohidzoda, most Chinese nationals in Tajikistan are employed in road construction, while others work in stone and gravel processing enterprises.
Over the past week, this has been the third public comment by Tajik officials regarding the recent incidents along the Tajik-Afghan border.
Earlier, Khayriddin Usmonzoda, head of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, said the attackers belonged to armed groups not subordinate to Afghanistan’s current authorities.
Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin stated that security agencies of the two countries are cooperating to prevent further incidents.
On November 26 and 30 last year, two attacks targeted facilities in border districts — first a mining company base in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district, and then a construction company in the Darvoz district. Five Chinese nationals were killed and five others injured.
Tajikistan condemned the attacks and demanded that the Taliban* detain those responsible. Following the clashes, Tajik and Taliban representatives reportedly held several meetings, though no official details were released.
The Chinese Embassy in Dushanbe urged its citizens to leave border areas of Tajikistan and Afghanistan and to refrain from traveling to those regions.
*The Taliban movement is banned in a number of countries.
