Dushanbe: No respite from loud, patriotic music at the recent Independence Day celebrations in Tajikistan’s capital abdulbashir yusufmilf still reeling from TalibanThe takeover of his country, neighboring Afghanistan.
Yusufi fled to the mountainous Central Asian country at the door of Afghanistan last month to secure last-minute visas and flights for his family as the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul.
As high-tempo music played in a central square in Dushanbe, the 43-year-old explained that his friends and relatives suffered death at the hands of the Taliban in Panjshir, the last province the group fell into.
Youssef, a former resident of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, told AFP: “I am very concerned for them.”
Doctor Yusuf, who has previously served in the German army and a British pharmaceutical company, says he cannot think of returning home with his family.
“If we go back to Afghanistan our lives are in danger,” he explained.
Instead of staying in Tajikistan, Yusufi hopes to find refuge in the West.
The Taliban’s rapid sweep into Afghanistan as foreign troops sparked a frenzied exodus after 20 years – particularly among Afghans who worked with foreign forces – centered at the airport in Kabul.
Tajikistan, a secretive and authoritarian former Soviet state close to Russia and China, has not provided data on the number of Afghans who have arrived there since the Taliban began its takeover in May.
But Interior Minister Ramzon Hamro Rahimzoda said earlier this month that the country could not accept the nearly 80 Afghan families camping on its border with Afghanistan, saying they lack the infrastructure to live.
Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon then criticized international institutions for “indifferent” to the fate of the Afghans, but he made no commitment to keep the refugees in his own country.
For Afghans arriving in Tajikistan, the government’s remarkable anti-Taliban position could be a good sign.
While other neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan began to develop ties with the Taliban, Tajik officials have repeatedly criticized the group and refused to associate with it.
Strongman Rakhmon has complained of the formation of “terrorist groups” on Tajikistan’s southern border ever since the Taliban controlled it.
He has given posthumous honors to anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Masood and the late former President of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Ambassador of the old Afghan government to Tajikistan, zaheer aghbariHas also rebuked the Taliban, pledging allegiance to the country’s ousted Vice President Amarullah Saleh.
In a news report in the embassy building on Wednesday, Aghbar dismissed the new Taliban government in Kabul as “many mullahs, some of whom have not even read two books”.
He said he could not say how many Afghan refugees have arrived in Tajikistan in recent months, but credited the government with “always treating refugees with warmth”.
Younger Afghans attending Tajikistan’s Independence Day celebrations in central Dushanbe told AFP they saw their long-term future in Afghanistan and the West.
Mahsa Yousofi, 15-year-old daughter of Abdulbashir Yousofi, said she dreams of living in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom.
“If I go there, I feel like I can be someone who can help my people,” Yusuf said.
Abdusabbur Alizai, a 23-year-old student, said he planned to continue studying here Tajik University on which he is enrolled.
“Then, I’ll try to leave for a country where I can make a decent living,” Alizai said.
Many of his relatives feel the same way, he told AFP.
“They used to have work. Now there is none. They are all unhappy with the Taliban and all want to leave Afghanistan for a better life,” Alizai said.
Yusufi fled to the mountainous Central Asian country at the door of Afghanistan last month to secure last-minute visas and flights for his family as the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul.
As high-tempo music played in a central square in Dushanbe, the 43-year-old explained that his friends and relatives suffered death at the hands of the Taliban in Panjshir, the last province the group fell into.
Youssef, a former resident of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, told AFP: “I am very concerned for them.”
Doctor Yusuf, who has previously served in the German army and a British pharmaceutical company, says he cannot think of returning home with his family.
“If we go back to Afghanistan our lives are in danger,” he explained.
Instead of staying in Tajikistan, Yusufi hopes to find refuge in the West.
The Taliban’s rapid sweep into Afghanistan as foreign troops sparked a frenzied exodus after 20 years – particularly among Afghans who worked with foreign forces – centered at the airport in Kabul.
Tajikistan, a secretive and authoritarian former Soviet state close to Russia and China, has not provided data on the number of Afghans who have arrived there since the Taliban began its takeover in May.
But Interior Minister Ramzon Hamro Rahimzoda said earlier this month that the country could not accept the nearly 80 Afghan families camping on its border with Afghanistan, saying they lack the infrastructure to live.
Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon then criticized international institutions for “indifferent” to the fate of the Afghans, but he made no commitment to keep the refugees in his own country.
For Afghans arriving in Tajikistan, the government’s remarkable anti-Taliban position could be a good sign.
While other neighboring countries such as Uzbekistan began to develop ties with the Taliban, Tajik officials have repeatedly criticized the group and refused to associate with it.
Strongman Rakhmon has complained of the formation of “terrorist groups” on Tajikistan’s southern border ever since the Taliban controlled it.
He has given posthumous honors to anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Masood and the late former President of Afghanistan Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Ambassador of the old Afghan government to Tajikistan, zaheer aghbariHas also rebuked the Taliban, pledging allegiance to the country’s ousted Vice President Amarullah Saleh.
In a news report in the embassy building on Wednesday, Aghbar dismissed the new Taliban government in Kabul as “many mullahs, some of whom have not even read two books”.
He said he could not say how many Afghan refugees have arrived in Tajikistan in recent months, but credited the government with “always treating refugees with warmth”.
Younger Afghans attending Tajikistan’s Independence Day celebrations in central Dushanbe told AFP they saw their long-term future in Afghanistan and the West.
Mahsa Yousofi, 15-year-old daughter of Abdulbashir Yousofi, said she dreams of living in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom.
“If I go there, I feel like I can be someone who can help my people,” Yusuf said.
Abdusabbur Alizai, a 23-year-old student, said he planned to continue studying here Tajik University on which he is enrolled.
“Then, I’ll try to leave for a country where I can make a decent living,” Alizai said.
Many of his relatives feel the same way, he told AFP.
“They used to have work. Now there is none. They are all unhappy with the Taliban and all want to leave Afghanistan for a better life,” Alizai said.
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