Except for Tajikistan, other countries of the region are reluctant to open their borders to Afghan refugees. In particular, this is connected with the plans to cooperate with the new authorities in Kabul, the experts believe.
Central Asian countries, except Tajikistan, refuse to accept Afghan refugees. Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are ready to accept only ethnic Kyrgyz and Kazakhs. According to the political analysts, the authorities of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan believe that under the Taliban (banned in Central Asian countries and recognised as a terrorist organisation), it will be easier for them to implement the regional infrastructure projects, and do not want the refugee issue to worsen their relations with the new partners.
Central Asian countries were uncertain whether they should accept Afghan refugees. After the withdrawal of NATO armed forces, the United States addressed the heads of the Central Asian countries requesting to provide temporary asylum for their partners from Afghanistan.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin opposed this position, saying that refugees should not be allowed into Central Asia without visas. It seems that Tajikistan and Uzbekistan supported Moscow’s position on this issue and temporarily banned the presence on their territory of Afghans who cooperated with NATO countries.In contrast to the other Central Asian states, the Tajik authorities were preparing to accept Afghan refugees from the very beginning. The authorities stated they could accept up to 100,000 Afghan refugees.
Fakhriddin Holbek, a Tajik observer reporting on Afghanistan, told CABAR.asia that Central Asian countries did not, and probably will not face a large influx of Afghan refugees for two reasons.
“The Taliban do not threaten people or force them to flee the country and take refuge in our countries. Second, the areas bordering our countries are occupied by the Taliban, and no one can approach the border,” he said.
According to Qosim Bekmuhammad, Afghanistan was handed over to the Taliban by a “secret agreement”, and the country’s cities did not participate in any battles that could frighten Afghans and facilitate their escape.
The Tajik authorities fear that the members of various extremist groups may be among the refugees. On July 27, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin stated that the members of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Ansarullah, and the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (all are banned in Central Asia) could enter Tajikistan disguised as refugees.
The Tajik society is rather positive about the prospect of accepting Afghan refugees. On social media, many Tajikistan residents say that the Afghan people accepted Tajik refugees during the civil war, and now, Tajikistan has to respond with the same hospitality. However, other people say that accepting more refugees could aggravate the situation in the country.
The authorities do not disclose the total number of Afghan refugees who arrived in Tajikistan in recent months. Abdumusavvir Bahoduri, head of the “Oriyono” organisation of Afghan migrants in Tajikistan, told CABAR.asia that three to five Afghan families seek assistance every day. One of the refugees is the Afghan athlete Farishta Husseini, who won many medals in taekwondo. A month before the Taliban came to power, Farishta fled first to Uzbekistan, and then – to Tajikistan. She says that due to her activities for women’s rights, she was repeatedly threatened, attacked, and forced to leave Afghanistan with her mother.
“We wanted to use our abilities to develop Afghanistan, but the Taliban took this opportunity away from us,” says Husseini.
Asylum seekers in Tajikistan are asking the UN and other countries involved in the Afghan issue for help.In contrast to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan’s position regarding the last refugees from Afghanistan was tougher. In particular, when Atta Muhammad Nur, the former governor of Mazar-i-Sharif, arrived at the Uzbek border with troops on August 14, the authorities allowed only a few people to cross the border.
On August 30, the authorities in Tashkent denied media reports about “Uzbekistan’s readiness to open its borders to people fleeing the Taliban regime”.
The statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan highlights, “to ensure security, currently, the Uzbek-Afghan border is completely closed and no crossing through the Termez security checkpoint is allowed”.
“In the short term, it is not planned to open the Termez security checkpoint on the Uzbek-Afghan border,” the Ministry noted.
In addition, Uzbekistan warned the United States that it could repatriate military pilots who fled Afghanistan two weeks ago and demanded to transfer these people to third countries as soon as possible.
An Uzbek political scientist anonymously told that Tashkent’s position could be explained by its intention to establish relations with the new regime in Kabul. The political scientist did not rule out the possibility that there are secret agreements between Tashkent and the Taliban on some issues.
“Tashkent is expecting that under the Taliban, they will be able to implement a number of their infrastructure projects in Afghanistan. In addition, they hope that the Taliban will not support Uzbek extremists. In exchange, the authorities are ready to recognise the new government in Kabul,” the source told CABAR.asia.
Turkmenistan refused to accept even ethnic Turkmens from Afghanistan. On August 31, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan announced an “active bilateral dialogue” with the new authorities of Afghanistan.
The Turkmen authorities also intend to implement the large infrastructure projects, in particular, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, power transmission lines, and fibre-optic communications along the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan route, as well as railways connecting Afghanistan with Turkmenistan.Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Ready to Accept Ethnic Kazakhs and Kyrgyz Only
Kazakhstan is not considering the issue of accepting refugees from Afghanistan, except for ethnic Kazakhs. On August 18, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist in ensuring security and the possible return of ethnic Kazakhs from Afghanistan to their historical homeland. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, about 15 families of ethnic Kazakhs live in the country – about 200 people.
According to Omirtai Bitimov, former Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan and Chairman of the Kazakh-Afghan Development and Partnership Association “AFG-QAZ”, Afghan citizens seek asylum in the Western countries. The members of the Kazakh diaspora, who, for various reasons, did not leave with the bulk of their compatriots in the past, are returning to Kazakhstan.
Kyrgyzstan’s position regarding Afghan refugees is slightly softer but similar to Kazakhstan’s position: the country is ready to accept up to 1,200 ethnic Kyrgyz. Back in early July, the government instructed state agencies to develop a set of measures for possible evacuation.
“We are ready to accept them if they come. In total, there are 1200-1300 Pamir Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan who resettled in the country,” the Head of the Department for working with refugees of the Ministry of Health and Social Development Zhypara Mambetova told CABAR.asia.
Currently, temporary restrictions on the issuance of visas to citizens of Afghanistan are introduced, except for the diplomatic and service visas, considering the unstable political situation.
According to official statistics, 73 Afghan people received refugee status in Kyrgyzstan, and the applications of 67 more people are being considered. According to Zhypara Mambetova, there were no applications for refugee status from new persons in connection with the recent events.