Pres denies Taliban involvement in east Tajikistan fighting.

26/10 Tass 140

DUSHANBE, October 26 (Itar-Tass) - Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon
flatly denied the media reports alleging the participation of Afghan's
Taliban in "Rasht events" in eastern Tajikistan. The Tajik leader stated
it at a joint news conference after the official part of his two-day visit
to Afghanistan, the Asia Plus news agency reported on Tuesday.
"Taking part in the Rasht district events were citizens of former
Soviet republics, foremost Tajik citizens," Rakhmon stated. He referred to
the special operation by the republic's law-enforcement bodies to
neutralize illegal paramilitary formations that began on September 22.
According to the Tajik leader, there have been no breakthroughs by the
Taliban or al Qaeda into the eastern part of Tajikistan.
Earlier, law-enforcement representatives officially stated that there
were foreign mercenaries form Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Russian
Federation fighting on the side of the militants.
At the same time, during the negotiations with his Afghan colleague
Hamid Karzai, Rakhmon underlined the importance of boosting border
security and protecting the Tajik-Afghan border on both sides of the
border river of Pyandzh.
"We believe it is important to strengthen cooperation on permanent
basis between the security, border and defense agencies of the two
countries, within the framework of the strategy to fight terrorism,
extremism and other challenges and threats of contemporaneity," Rakhmon
noted adding that "strengthening our common border whose length is almost
1,400 kilometers as a border of friendship and cooperation has vital
significance for security and stability of the two states."
The Tajik leader also underscored that the drug threat from
Afghanistan was a problem for not just the two states, but the whole
international community.
-0-myz/usn