Tajik-Afghan bridge in Shamsiddin-Shohin district reopens for use at request of Afghan authorities

The Tajik-Afghan bridge across the Panj River in the Shamsiddin-Shohin (formerly Shouroobod) district in Khatlon province reopened for use at request of Afghan authorities at the end of the last week.  Dushanbe unilaterally closed the bridge for use six months ago due to intensification of activities of Taliban militants and increase in drug trafficking in Afghan northern provinces. 

According to the Main Border Guard Directorate under the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), the bridge has reopened for use at request of the Afghan authorities.

“Dozens of avalanches have blocked roads connected those areas of Afghanistan with the central part of country threatening to starve the population,” an official source at the Main Border Guard Directorate told Asia-Plus in an interview.

“A convoy of trucks loaded with food products and essential goods proceeded via the bridge to northern Afghanistan at the end of last week,” the source said.  

Recall, the Tajik-Afghan border across the Panj River in the Shamsiddin-Shohin district was introduced into operation in late summer of 2017.  The construction of this 180-meter bridge was funded by the European Union.  A total cost of the project is about 16 million Euros.  

The bridges across the Panj River connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan have improved commerce and traffic within Central Asia.