Sources within the Taliban’s foreign ministry have confirmed that a high-ranking Tajik delegation that arrived in Kabul on Saturday has met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, and is expected to meet other Taliban officials, The Caspian Post informs via Amu TV.
The delegation, comprising 14 senior officials from Tajikistan’s security, intelligence, and foreign affairs bodies, is expected to hold further meetings with Taliban chief minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund and their intelligence chief Abdulhaq Wasiq, the sources said.
The visit marks the first time a high-level Tajik government team has traveled to Kabul since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, and it comes after years of vocal opposition from Dushanbe toward the Taliban rule.
Unlike its Central Asian neighbors, Tajikistan has maintained a hardline stance against the Taliban, keeping its embassy in Kabul closed and refusing to recognize Taliban-appointed diplomats in Dushanbe. Instead, Afghanistan’s embassy there continues to be staffed by envoys from the former government.
The visiting delegation includes the first deputy commander of the border forces under Tajikistan’s National Security Committee, the special envoy of the foreign ministry, senior intelligence advisors, and local security officials from Badakhshan province - the mountainous border region that shares a long and porous frontier with Afghanistan.
While the Taliban and Tajik authorities have not issued official statements about the visit, the delegation’s arrival is widely viewed as a potential opening for security coordination, especially in light of growing threats along the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border.
Military analyst Bismillah Taban told Amu that cross-border threats such as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and militant activity have become increasingly alarming for Tajikistan. “The security risks emanating from Afghanistan - particularly the trafficking of weapons and narcotics and the presence of extremist groups - have forced Tajikistan to reassess its approach,” Taban said.
The visit follows a recent diplomatic push by Taliban officials. In October, the Taliban governor for Balkh, Mohammad Yusuf Wafa - a figure close to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada - traveled to Tajikistan and met with officials there. Meanwhile, Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo held discussions with Pakistani officials recently on regional security and developments in Afghanistan.
Tajikistan has long been seen as one of the most vocal critics of the Taliban in the region, particularly for its support of the National Resistance Front (NRF), led by Ahmad Massoud, whose members have maintained a presence in Dushanbe. The Tajik government has also consistently called for an inclusive government in Afghanistan that respects the rights of all ethnic and religious groups.
The Taliban, for their part, have repeatedly claimed that their government represents all Afghans and dismissed calls for political inclusivity as foreign interference.
