Afghanistan expresses regret over civilian death in Tajikistan border incident

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry has expressed deep regret over the death of a woman in Tajikistan’s Darvoz district, saying the incident was caused by gunfire from the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border area by what it described as “destructive and opportunistic elements.”

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, said the ministry had learned with “deep sorrow” of the death of a woman from Dashtak village in Darvoz district, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, on the evening of August 13.

Balkhi conveyed condolences to the victim’s family and the people of neighboring Tajikistan.

He said recent reports indicated that some “destructive and opportunistic elements” were attempting to create disorder in parts of Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province, potentially undermining regional security and stability as well as trust between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

The spokesman said the Islamic Emirate remains committed to security, stability, good-neighborly relations and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries.

“Afghanistan will not allow anyone to use its territory to create disorder or undermine security,” Balkhi said.

The statement comes after Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry sent a formal protest note to Afghan authorities over what it described as an airspace violation, damage to residential buildings and the death of a civilian in Darvoz.

Tajik media outlet Asia-Plus reported that Dushanbe urged Kabul to respect Tajikistan’s state border and take effective measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.