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Kyrgyzstan Removes Taliban From List of Terrorist Organizations

Kyrgyzstan has quietly removed the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations. Kyrgyzstan's Prosecutor General's Office recently published a list of extremist terrorist organizations whose activities are banned by courts in the country. The list includes 20 organizations, but the Taliban is not among them. The State Commission on Religious Affairs could not answer precisely why the Taliban is not on the list. Azamat Yusupov, the agency's deputy head, told reporters that the commission had nothing to do with approving the list. “Given the recent changes in Afghanistan, the Taliban can be removed from the list of terrorist organizations. It is better to contact the judiciary, which can answer this question more accurately,” Yusupov stated. Afghanistan's Taliban government has already responded. The foreign ministry of the unrecognized Islamic Emirate said it “welcomes and approves of the Kyrgyz authorities' decision to remove the Taliban from the list of banned groups.” “The step taken by Kyrgyzstan signifies the growing political recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan at both regional and international levels and removes an obstacle to strengthening bilateral relations between Afghanistan and other countries,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. The Taliban has been recognized as a terrorist organization in different years and by other countries and organizations. For example, in Kazakhstan, the Taliban was recognized as a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court on March 15, 2005. And in Kyrgyzstan by the decision of the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek on September 15, 2006. In Russia, the Taliban was recognized as a terrorist organization by a decision of the Supreme Court in 2003. In June this year, Kazakhstan removed the Taliban regime from the terrorist list to develop economic interaction with Afghanistan. This was announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, at a meeting of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). In May of this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban could be removed from the list of banned organizations; however, this issue still needs to be resolved in Russia.

Terrorism Security Afghanistan Taliban SCO Islamic State Khorasan Province

Uzbek Security Chief: SCO Must Help Afghanistan to Fight Islamic State Khorasan Province

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is holding its 10th regional anti-terrorism conference in Tashkent. The conference is being held on September 4 and 5. At the conference's plenary session, Lieutenant General Abdusalam Azizov, the head of Uzbekistan's State Security Service, emphasized that the member countries of the SCO must work together to fight against international terrorism, extremism, and radicalism. “The Afghan government is fighting international terrorism based on its capabilities and resources, and the Afghan special service is leading the fight against the Islamic State and achieving results. We must fight together against the enemy,” Azizov said. Regarding the branch of Islamic State known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which has claimed responsibility for several fatal attacks in SCO member countries, including the attack on the Crocus City concert hall outside Moscow earlier this year, Azizov said: “It is important to help Afghanistan in the fight against ISKP, because the weakening of countermeasures will lead to the strengthening of this group, which, in turn, poses a threat to the security of the region.” ISKP was formed in 2014 as a collective of defectors from groups including al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP), and former Taliban fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is estimated that ISKP has between 4,000 and 6,000 members. Since the Taliban killed its leader Sanaullah Ghafari in 2023, it is unclear who runs the group.

Rudenshiold U.S. Taliban Military Afghanistan

U.S. Decision to Give Military Aircraft to Uzbekistan Upsets Taliban

Ownership of 46 U.S. military aircraft that have sat on the tarmac in Uzbekistan’s southern city of Termez for more than three years has finally been established. Most of those planes and helicopters are going to Uzbekistan, and south of the Uzbek border in Afghanistan, the Taliban are not pleased with this decision. Escape from Afghanistan On August 15, 2021, Taliban forces freely entered Kabul and reestablished themselves in power. The rapid advances of Taliban militants across Afghanistan earlier that month came as the last foreign forces were departing from the country. Panic broke out throughout the nation. On the day the Taliban entered Kabul, dozens of Afghan Army aircraft carrying government officials and soldiers left their bases and flew north, some to Tajikistan, most to Uzbekistan. In Uzbekistan, the Afghans were deported to U.S. custody and taken to the United Arab Emirates, where they were eventually given U.S. visas and sent to live in the United States. However, the 22 planes and 24 helicopters they flew aboard to Uzbekistan have remained at Termez. The aircraft belonged to the United States. They were loaned for use by the U.S.-backed government forces in Afghanistan. The Taliban assert that all the weapons used by troops of the ousted Afghan government belong to the Afghan people, meaning to the Taliban. On January 4, 2022, Taliban Defense Ministry representative, Inomulla Samagani, said a request for the return of the aircraft had been made to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Days later, the Taliban’s acting Defense Minister, Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, demanded their return. “Our planes that you have, that are in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, must be returned to us,” Yaqoob said, warning both countries, “not to test our patience and not to force us to take possible retaliatory steps to [reclaim the aircraft].” As economic relations have grown between Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and Uzbekistan since late 2021, the Taliban’s language has softened, but their claim to the planes and helicopters has been repeated several times. On August 24, 2024, Uzbekistan’s kun.uz news agency reported that U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Johnathan Henick had stated that most of the U.S. aircraft in Uzbekistan would be handed over to the Uzbek government. “Yes, it is already official,” Henick said. “The military equipment will remain in Uzbekistan, this is already settled.” Unsurprisingly, the Taliban Defense Ministry responded to Henick’s remarks. “Any agreement regarding the fate of Afghan helicopters and planes in Uzbekistan is unacceptable,” a Taliban Defense Ministry statement stated. Taliban Defense Ministry spokesman, Emayatullah Khwarazmi, said in an audio statement released on August 27 that the “government of Uzbekistan is expected to refrain from any dealings in this regard, to consider good neighborly relations, and to make a wise decision by cooperating in the return of Afghanistan's air force aircraft." U.S. officials have made it clear since 2021 that under no circumstance would the aircraft be given to Afghanistan. During a visit to Dushanbe in June 2022, Commander of the U.S. Central Command, General...

International Relations International Cooperation Taliban Diplomacy Afghanistan

Kazakhstan Accredits Chargé D’Affaires of Afghanistan

The Kazakh Foreign Ministry has announced that the country has accredited a chargé d'affaires of Taliban-led Afghanistan to expand trade, economic, and humanitarian cooperation between the two countries. On August 21 in Astana, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alibek Bakayev met with Muhammad Ur Rehman Rahmani, head of Afghanistan’s diplomatic mission in Kazakhstan. Bakayev stated that Kazakhstan had accredited Mr. Muhammad Rahmani as chargé d'affaires. Early in June, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that his country had removed the Taliban from its list of terrorist organizations, stressing that the move was made to develop trade and economic ties with Taliban-led Afghanistan. In recent years, Kazakhstan has made efforts to increase trade with Afghanistan and participate in Afghan transport and connectivity projects in cooperation with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan has also advocated for consolidating international efforts to provide assistance to Afghanistan and resolve its complex humanitarian problems. To this end, Kazakhstan proposed establishing the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.

Afghanistan International trade Bilateral Cooperation Economy Taliban

Uzbekistan and Afghanistan to Increase Trade Turnover to $3 Billion

The government portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan has reported that on August 17, a delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, visited Afghanistan. President Mirziyoyev has previously stated that no positive result can be achieved without establishing an international dialogue with the current government in Afghanistan. In a special resolution of the United Nations General Assembly adopted in 2022 at Mirziyoyev's initiative, it was recognized that Afghanistan has a special place in establishing relations between Central Asia and South Asia. As the report states, Uzbekistan was one of the first to establish a constructive and mutually acceptable dialogue with the interim government of Afghanistan. During the meetings, the development of trade relations with Afghanistan, the promotion of effective cooperation in the field of energy to a new level, the implementation of joint development projects in copper, iron, oil and gas fields, transport and logistics, agriculture and water management, education, and further development of inter-regional relations were discussed. It was also noted that there are possibilities to increase mutual trade turnover to $1 billion this year, and to $3 billion shortly after. It was reported that agreements on the protection of bilateral investments and preferential trade would give great impetus to the further development of trade and economic cooperation. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Central Asia International Institute, Vladimir Norov, wrote on LinkedIn that 35 contracts with a total value of $2.5 billion were signed between the government of Uzbekistan and the Taliban. "They were signed yesterday in the presence of Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Abdul-Ghani Baradar and Uzbek Prime Minister, Abdulla Aripov. Of these, 12 documents are investment documents worth $1.4 billion, and 13 are trade documents worth $1.1 billion. Uzbekistan will train 100 Afghan railway specialists and accept 500 Afghan students for a grant work that has begun to simplify the issuance of visas to Uzbekistan for Afghan students and businessmen," Norov wrote. One of the main announcements was the introduction of a Preferential Trade Agreement, which will come into effect on October 1, 2024. This agreement will eliminate import duties on 14 different products, simplify the process for exporters, and increase trade flow between the two countries. To further support cross-border trade, the Ayritom-Khayraton border post has switched to 24-hour working hours starting August 1, 2024. Previously, The Times of Central Asia reported that the Uzbek side has finished repairing the Naibabad railway station in Afghanistan.

UN Terrorism Security Taliban Afghanistan

Central Asia Asks: Are Afghanistan’s Taliban Government Terrorists?

On June 3, Kazakhstani President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with speakers of CSTO countries’ parliaments, who were in Almaty for a meeting of the Council of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. At this event, Tokayev separately touched upon the situation in Afghanistan. In his view, one of the strategic tasks at this point is actively linking Afghanistan with the region. Tokayev recalled that “Kazakhstan had removed the Taliban regime from its list of terrorist organizations, basing this decision on the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation with today’s Afghanistan and the understanding that this regime is a long-term factor.” The last bit, namely that “Kazakhstan had removed the Taliban regime from its list of terrorist organizations,” was presented by many foreign media, probably due to its simplicity, as something that had just happened. For example, the Russian-language service of Deutsche Welle reported that “the Kazakh authorities have decided to exclude the Taliban movement from the list of terrorist organizations.” Similar stories were carried by various other news media, like RFE/RL’s Kazakh service, 24.kg and Amu TV, among others. However, some publications objectively covered Tokayev’s statement. For example, The Diplomat reported that “Tokayev explained his government’s decision in more detail,” while Sputnik India wrote that "Tokayev explained Almaty's decision in December to drop the group from the list.” Asia-Plus ran a similar story. Given all the noise, it would be useful to clarify the situation for readers. The decision to exclude the Taliban from the list of banned foreign organizations was made by Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court on December 20, 2023, almost six months ago. The Taliban had been put on the list in March 2005. At that time, they were actively fighting the NATO-led international coalition, which had launched the so-called Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2001 in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack. The Kazakhstani Foreign Ministry cited UN decisions to back up its move to take the Taliban off the terrorist list. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov said that “according to UN Security Council resolutions, which are binding, the Taliban movement is not included in the lists of terrorist organizations recognized as such by the UN Security Council.” As expected, at the time the reaction was mixed. Most of the negative commentary presented it as recognition of the Taliban regime, which, in fact, is not true – it was not a unilateral act of Kazakhstan giving international legal recognition to the Taliban. Meanwhile, another trend in the coverage of Tokayev’s recent remarks was to link Kazakhstan’s decision to remove the Taliban from its terrorist list with Russian plans to do the same. On May 27, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Justice Ministry reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Taliban movement could be excluded from the list of organizations banned in the country. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked that this proposal “reflects a realization of reality,” adding that “[the Taliban] are the real government. We [and] our allies, especially in Central Asia, are not indifferent to Afghanistan.” In his own...