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Afghanistan

Rail, Water, and Helicopters – Uzbekistan’s “Limited Recognition” of the Taliban

Uzbekistan has spent the middle of September embroiled in an increasingly tetchy press battle over an unusual topic: helicopters. The Taliban, who run the de facto government in Kabul, have long claimed that several dozen military aircraft and helicopters currently residing in Uzbekistan are rightfully theirs. On September 11, a Taliban official announced publicly that Uzbekistan had agreed to hand them back. This was reported widely in the regional media, with the Uzbek foreign ministry slow off the mark in denying these claims. The dispute goes back to the fall of Kabul in August 2021, when a total of 57 aircraft were flown from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as Ashraf Ghani’s government collapsed. “The helicopters came from the Afghan territory to Uzbek territory illegally, so actually we had the right to confiscate them,” Islomkhon Gafarov, an Afghanistan expert at the Center for Progressive Reform, a Tashkent think tank, told the Times of Central Asia. However, Gafarov adds that the aircraft were the property of the U.S. military loaned to the previous government of Afghanistan, and therefore, Washington will have a say in their return. This has not stopped the Taliban from continuing to demand the helicopters back for use in “humanitarian operations,” in the words of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Such wrangling is part of the daily diplomatic in-tray for Tashkent when dealing with a neighbor whose government has not been recognized by almost the entire world. “Afghanistan is our neighbor,” said Gafarov. “According to the geopolitical situation, we have to conduct a dialogue with this government. It’s true, Uzbekistan hasn’t recognized the Taliban government, but de facto, we work with them; we’ve had diplomatic relations with them since 2018.” Tashkent certainly has reasons to work with the Taliban. Helicopters are a mere sideshow compared to two far larger issues that will define their relations for years to come: rail and water. Railway On the positive side of the ledger, the Taliban have brought to Afghanistan a reasonable degree of stability - enough to start contemplating large-scale infrastructure projects. In July, an agreement was struck between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan to conduct a feasibility study for a trans-Afghanistan railway, with 647 kilometers of new track being laid to link Uzbekistan with Pakistan’s Indian Ocean ports. This railway could bring significant benefits to Uzbekistan, one of only two double-landlocked countries in the world. Currently, sea-bound exports must travel via Turkmenistan to Iran. Other routes almost all rely on going via Kazakhstan. The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, currently being constructed, should remove some of the need for sea-bound routes, but the Pakistan route would be faster. “The trans-Afghan route is the shortest way to the seaports of Karachi and Gwadar,” Gafarov told TCA. With a line from Termez, Uzbekistan, to Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan already operational, this only leaves two sections unbuilt - from Mazar to Kabul, and then from Kabul to Peshawar in Pakistan. The teams are still only at the feasibility stage right now, and have, with some chutzpah, predicted...

Afghanistan

Taliban Again Urges Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to Return Military Helicopters

Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has once again called on Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to return military helicopters flown out of the country by Afghan pilots during the collapse of the previous government in August 2021. The appeal was reported by Afghan news outlet Tolonews, following Muttaqi’s meeting with diplomats and representatives of international organizations in Kabul. “We ask those countries that, four years ago following political developments, took part of our helicopters and transferred them to neighboring countries, to return these helicopters to the Afghan people so they can be used in humanitarian operations,” Muttaqi said. He also criticized ongoing sanctions on Afghanistan, particularly banking restrictions that he claimed have prevented Afghans abroad from sending money to families affected by natural disasters. “Unfortunately, due to the unjust and unlawful restrictions imposed on Afghanistan, our compatriots have been unable to send aid to those affected by the earthquake,” he added. An earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan on August 31 killed around 2,200 people and destroyed more than 5,000 homes, according to Al Jazeera. Both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have since sent humanitarian aid, including food, medical supplies, and tents, to assist survivors. Muttaqi emphasized that providing sustained assistance to those affected remains a top priority for the Taliban government. Earlier this month, The Kabul Times quoted Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that Uzbekistan had agreed to return 57 helicopters. However, Ahror Burkhanov, spokesman for Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry, dismissed the claim as “fake news,” stressing that Tashkent’s position on the matter has not changed.

Afghanistan

Uzbekistan Denies Reports on Return of Afghan Military Helicopters

Speculation has resurfaced regarding the fate of Afghan military aircraft flown to Central Asia during the collapse of the previous Afghan government in August 2021. On September 10, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Kabul Times that Uzbekistan had agreed to return helicopters that Afghan pilots had flown across the border as Kabul fell. He claimed the transfer of 57 helicopters was imminent, describing it as a step toward rebuilding Afghanistan’s air force and strengthening ties between the two countries. According to Mujahid, the aircraft had remained in Uzbekistan under the terms of quiet negotiations between Tashkent and Kabul. The U.S. Department of Defense previously confirmed that 46 planes and helicopters were flown to Uzbekistan and another 18 to Tajikistan in 2021. The aircraft included Mi-17 and UH-60 helicopters, along with PC-12, C-208, AC-208, and A-29 fixed-wing aircraft. However, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly denied the Taliban’s claims. On September 11, ministry spokesperson Ahror Burkhanov told Gazeta.uz that reports of an agreement to return the helicopters “do not correspond to reality.” He dismissed the information as “fake news” and emphasized that Uzbekistan’s position on the issue remains unchanged. The Taliban has repeatedly demanded the return of the aircraft from both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, but neither Tashkent nor Dushanbe has responded to these requests publicly. U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan Jonathan Henick previously stated that Washington and Tashkent reached an understanding in 2021 regarding the aircraft. He added that part of the military equipment remains in Uzbekistan, and that the two governments are cooperating on the matter through a joint program. Prior to the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, Afghanistan’s air fleet included 164 military aircraft. Today, only 81 are believed to remain. As the government collapsed, many Afghan Air Force pilots fled with their aircraft to neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

Earthquake

Turkmenistan to Send Tents, Food, Other Aid to Afghanistan; Quake Toll Rises

Turkmenistan plans to send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as the death toll from an earthquake there increased to more than 2,200, Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Thursday. Rashid Muradov, Turkmenistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said “urgent humanitarian assistance - including clothing, tents, medicine, and food - will soon be delivered” to Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X. Muradov announced Turkmenistan’s aid plans in a telephone conversation with Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s foreign minister. The Afghan minister thanked Muradov and “assured that the mentioned aid will be delivered to the needy people in a timely manner,” his office said. Some international donors have previously expressed concern that the Taliban diverts aid for its own purposes rather than delivering it to those most in need. The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction recently released a report that it said looked into how “the Taliban diverts U.S. aid dollars intended for needy Afghans and the culture of denial within the international aid community, which thwarts effective measures to mitigate that diversion.” A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern areas in Afghanistan on Sunday, and rescue efforts have been hampered by a lack of infrastructure and mountainous terrain. Kunar was the hardest hit province, and parts of Nangarhar and Laghman provinces were also affected. The Afghan Red Crescent Society said on Thursday that at least 2,205 people died and 3,640 others were injured. “Many people are trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes and rescue efforts are ongoing,” the society said. Like Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan shares a border with Afghanistan and has said it is ready to help with quake relief. Central Asian countries have sent aid to Afghanistan in the past as they build ties with the Taliban and work on diversifying trade routes. Security concerns remain. Tajik border guards and Taliban fighters exchanged fire in an area along the Tajik-Afghan border on Aug. 24, though the two sides later met in an effort to reduce tensions.

Tajik-Afghan Border

Gold and Gunfire: Tajik-Taliban Tensions Flare on the Border

Tajik border guards and Taliban fighters have exchanged fire in an area along the Tajik-Afghan border. The incident happened on August 24 and is connected to a Chinese gold mining operation on the Afghan side of the border. The hostilities ended after a rare meeting between local Tajik and Taliban officials, though each side accused the other of harboring enemies. Gold Mining The Tajik authorities have been watching Afghanistan’s Dovang district in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province since the start of a gold mining operation there three years ago. Residents of Tajikistan’s Shamsiddin Shohin district, across the Pyanj River from Dovang, reported rising water levels in their area. Sodikjon Rahmonzoda, the head of the district branch of Tajikistan’s Ministry for Emergency Situations, stated that “On the opposite bank of the river, in Afghanistan, industrial gold mining started…. They built infrastructure (including) dams that direct water to our bank.” The Tajik authorities have been reinforcing the bank on the Tajik side of the river to prevent nearby villages from flooding. It is unclear if the two sides were previously in contact about the problems the diversion of water in the river was causing in Tajikistan. The other four Central Asian governments have all established a dialogue with the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021. Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and Uzbek officials have visited Afghanistan, and Taliban representatives have visited Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (but so far, not Kyrgyzstan). The Tajik government has kept its contact with the Afghan militant group to a minimum, though several border crossing points are working again, and some bazaars on the Tajik side of the frontier have reopened to Afghan customers. Rising Tensions In May, Tajik authorities detained a group of Chinese and Afghans who drove across the river on excavators from the mining site in Dovang into Tajikistan. According to the Tajik authorities, the Chinese and Afghans were seeking to launder money in Tajikistan. On August 24, a group of Taliban arrived at the border area in Dovang. It is not clear what sparked the shooting, but Tajik border guards and Taliban fighters exchanged fire using heavy weapons. One Taliban fighter was reportedly killed, and four others were wounded. There were no reports of casualties among the Tajik border guards. Neither the Tajik government nor Taliban officials have commented on the clash. A Rare Meeting Following the shooting, the commander of the Tajik border guard unit in the Shamsiddin Shohin district led a group of soldiers across the border to Dovang to meet with the head of mining operations and other officials in Badakhshan Province. The two sides discussed the gold mining operation on the Afghan side of the border, but the conversation degenerated into accusations, with each side complaining that the other was sheltering and training their enemies. Both sides are correct. The Tajik government allows members of the National Resistance Front (NRF), including its leader Ahmad Masoud, to travel to and often stay in Tajikistan. The NRF is a group of mainly ethnic...

Culture

Afghanistan Dismantles Navoi Statue, Plans New Memorial Amid Uzbek Backlash

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have dismantled the statue of renowned Timurid-era poet and thinker Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif, according to a report by Amu. Local sources told the outlet that the monument, located in the telecommunications square of the city’s third district, was completely removed. The decision has drawn criticism from Uzbek cultural figures and officials, who argue that the Taliban are disregarding the spiritual heritage of other peoples and eroding the region’s historical and cultural uniqueness. In response, Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through spokesperson Ahror Burhonov, sought clarification on August 21. “As soon as we learned that the monument to the great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif had been dismantled, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry immediately contacted representatives of the Afghan authorities to obtain an official explanation,” Burhonov said. Initial explanations from Afghan officials claimed the statue’s location was not dignified enough to properly honor Navoi. They announced plans to construct a new memorial complex, which would include a new statue, restored inscriptions on Navoi’s life and work, and the renaming of the square in his honor. Burhonov added that Afghan authorities had expressed regret over the statue’s removal without prior consultation with the Ministry of Culture or the public. He emphasized that the Afghan side reaffirmed its commitment to preserving Navoi’s legacy and pledged to take appropriate measures to commemorate him respectfully. Alisher Navoi (1441-1501), born in Herat, modern-day Afghanistan, is widely recognized as the father of early Turkic literature. He remains a powerful cultural symbol for Uzbeks and other peoples across Central Asia. The statue had stood in Mazar-i-Sharif for approximately 17 years. It was previously damaged before its complete removal. As reported by Dunyo, Afghan officials reiterated that the statue’s location was unsuitable and reaffirmed plans to establish a larger and more dignified memorial site. The new monument is expected to include multilingual plaques in Uzbek, English, Dari, and Pashto, recounting Navoi’s life and contributions. At a public event on August 21 attended by local officials, diplomats, and journalists, Mazar-i-Sharif Mayor Abdurahman Himmat said that Afghans deeply respect Navoi’s legacy. “We will turn this monument into a worthy place of remembrance for both local residents and foreign visitors,” he stated. Himmat noted that around 40 projects are currently planned in the city, including restoration efforts for monuments dedicated to cultural icons such as Navoi, Magtymguly Pyragy, and 13th-century poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi. He also highlighted the construction of the Imam al-Bukhari madrasah, supported by Uzbekistan, as a symbol of close bilateral ties. The project was first announced by Uzbekistan last year. Jafar Fattayev, head of the Uzbek Council in Mazar-i-Sharif, welcomed the Afghan initiative, calling it a gesture of respect for Navoi and Uzbek cultural heritage.