Asia Times: Pakistan’s interest in Central Asia sharply increased after the Soviet Union collapse. General Naseerullah Babar, who was central to Pakistan’s attempts to navigate these newly available potential economic opportunities, while negating the military dimension of ‘strategic depth’, said in an interview, that “the talk about strategic depth is nonsense … We realized that Afghanistan
Bruce Pannier Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty November 29, 2016 The proposed railway line from Turkmenistan to Tajikistan, via Afghanistan, marked a milestone on November 28 when the first station on the Afghan side of the Turkmen border opened. Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani attended the ceremony at the Aqina railway station
AFP: Asian neighbours Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on Monday opened the first section of a $2 billion link connecting their two countries by rail for the first time and set to extend to Tajikistan. Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani attended the colourful celebrations featuring Turkmen traditional dancers. A train pulling 46 freight
1TV: The Afghanistan national football team lost a friendly football match 1-0 to the national football team of Tajikistan on Sunday evening. The match was held in the capital of Tajikistan Dushanbe. The first half of the game ended in draw despite both sides had chances to hit goals in the middle period of the match.
Sputnik: MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Daesh terrorist group maintains greater interest in Central Asia than in Afghanistan, but it has little capabilities to reach the region at the moment, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said. Click here to read more (external link). Other Security News ISIS use civilians as shield, dress in female attire to
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service September 26, 2016 DUSHSANBE — Tajikistan says China plans to finance and build several outposts for Tajik border guards along the Tajik-Afghan border. A Tajik government decree published on September 26 said the move would bolster Tajik security. The decree said the government instructed the State National Security Committee to sign an
Khaama Press: Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has warned to close transit route for Pakistan to Central Asian countries as the Wagah port has been closed for the Afghan traders for import and export. President Ghani made the remarks during a meeting with the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Owen Jenkins in Kabul. He said Afghanistan
KABUL, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) — Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Saturday left for Uzbekistan to take part in the funeral of late Uzbek President Islam Karimov, the country’s Presidential Palace said. Ghani left Kabul for Samarkand, Uzbekistan to attend the funeral, the palace said in a statement. Karimov died Friday of a stroke at
Chris Hannas VOA News August 30, 2016 WASHINGTON — The top U.S. diplomat for Central Asia says the region’s relative stability means it often does not get much attention, but that a top priority when the next U.S. president takes office will be to explain the area’s importance to that new administration. Deputy Assistant Secretary of
1TV: The first train carrying freight containers from China to Afghanistan left the eastern Chinese city of Nantong on Thursday afternoon, CCTV reported. The train will leave China through the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang. It will then pass through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan before arriving [at] Hairatan after, a border town and a port in the north of Afghanistan.