ISLAMABAD: A brazen drone assault from Afghan territory claimed threeChinese lives in Tajikistan’s Khatlon province on November 26, plunging thevolatile border into renewed peril. The unmanned aerial vehicle, laden withgrenades and light arms, targeted a workers’ camp of LLC Shohin SM near theIstiklol border post. This mining firm’s employees, vital to regionalinfrastructure, fell victim to cross-border sabotage amid escalatingthreats from entrenched militant networks. Tajik authorities swiftlydecried the incident as a terrorist outrage, underscoring persistentinstability despite diplomatic overtures to Kabul.
Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a vehement condemnation, expressingprofound grief for the slain nationals and demanding urgent Afghanintervention to secure shared frontiers. Officials highlighted ongoingefforts to foster peace between Dushanbe and Kabul, yet lamented theunchecked operations of criminal syndicates harboring in Afghanistan’srugged terrains. The attack, the first of its lethal precision in thesector, exposes vulnerabilities in bilateral security pacts, with expertswarning of broader spillover risks to Central Asia’s economic corridors.Dushanbe’s call for “immediate and effective measures” echoes a chorus ofregional pleas for accountability.
In a parallel development, Pakistan and Tajikistan are contemplatingmilitary dialogues to confront Afghan-sourced terrorism head-on. Recenthigh-level consultations in Dushanbe, just weeks prior, emphasizedbolstering joint operations against groups like the Islamic State-KhorasanProvince. Islamabad, scarred by its own frontier incursions, views theTajik breach as a stark reminder of interconnected threats. Sourcesindicate exploratory talks on “hard kinetic strategies,” intelligencefusion, to dismantle terror sanctuaries. This nascent alliance couldreshape South-Central Asian defenses, potentially drawing in allies likeChina amid the tragedy’s fallout.
The slain workers’ repatriation rites, attended by Tajik and Chineseenvoys, amplified calls for unified resolve. As investigations probe thedrone’s origins—possibly linked to Taliban-rival factions—regional powersgrapple with Afghanistan’s enduring role as a launchpad for violence.Pakistan’s strategic pivot toward proactive engagement with Tajikistansignals a departure from reactive postures, promising a fortified bulwarkagainst extremism’s creep. Yet, without Kabul’s earnest reforms, suchborder flare-ups risk cascading into wider conflagrations, imperiling traderoutes and civilian havens alike.
