Tajikistan Reports 17 Armed Border Clashes With Afghan Traffickers in 2025
Tajik authorities have reported 17 armed clashes with drug traffickers along the Afghanistan border last year, highlighting growing security risks and a sharp rise in narcotics seizures, The Caspian Post reported, citing Khaama Press.
Tajikistan’s Counter-Narcotics Agency chief Zafar Samad said security forces recorded 17 armed confrontations with Afghan drug traffickers along the frontier during 2025.
He said the clashes resulted in the deaths of two Tajik security personnel and ten Afghan nationals, as violence linked to cross-border trafficking intensified.
Authorities also reported a significant increase in drug seizures, with more than 2,700 kilograms of narcotics intercepted along the border over the year.
Officials noted a sharp rise in clashes compared with the previous year, when only six armed incidents were recorded and fewer traffickers were killed.
Samad added that narcotics trafficking routes from Afghanistan through Tajikistan toward other regions remain active despite enhanced security operations.
The long and mountainous Tajikistan-Afghanistan border has historically been a major corridor for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Central Asia, Russia and Europe.
Regional governments and international organizations have repeatedly warned that economic hardship and instability continue to fuel trafficking networks and cross-border criminal activity.
Officials stressed that sustained cooperation and stronger border control measures are essential to curb trafficking and reduce violence along one of Central Asia’s most sensitive frontiers.
