MoFA probing troops crossing into Tajik, Uzbek territories

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has said it is seriously investigating media reports that some Afghan nationals have crossed into Uzbekistan.

In a statement, MoFA said the Afghan government has received information that some Afghan security personnel had crossed into the territory of Uzbekistan, an incident which is seriously and comprehensively being investigated to clarify the reasons and dimensions of the matter.

On the morning of June 27, an armed group of Taliban militants launched an attack on a border checkpoint in Afghanistan’s Kaldar district, forcing 17 Afghan troops to flee, Tajikistan’s state news agency reported.

The troops entered Tajikistan through its Shahrtuz border outpost. The Shahrtuz district is in the very southwestern corner of the country, where the border intersects with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

This was the second time in less than a week that Afghan troops had to seek haven on Tajik soil. On June 22, more than 130 soldiers escaped across Shir Khan Bandar border crossing after coming under a sustained assault.

Uzbekistan has taken a firmer line against escaping Afghan troops, warning them that they are violating international law by crossing the border without approval.

A spokesman for the presidential administration in Tashkent said on June 28 there had been several such attempts in the previous few days.

The only incident about which some scant details have been revealed occurred on June 23, when 53 Afghan soldiers and militiamen crossed with their weapons from Afghanistan’s Shortepa district, which lies along the Amu-Darya River, into Uzbekistan.

“Between that and today, several more such attempts were undertaken,” the spokesman, SherzodAsadov, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.

The last one was on June 26, he said.

Asadov said that all people seeking to enter Uzbekistan have, in accordance with domestic and international law, been returned to Afghanistan.

“The inviolability of the border of Uzbekistan should not be questioned in any way,” he said.

Nh/ma