OMM Newsroom
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Belarus, members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), are preparing to supply Tajikistan with arms and military equipment by the end of 2026. The decision was announced as security concerns grow following violent incidents along the border with Afghanistan, AnewZ reported.
CSTO Secretary-General Taalatbek Masadykov said Tajik officials had selected suppliers and agreed on the value of the orders. Contracts are being finalized, with the first deliveries expected by the end of the year.
Tajikistan will receive weapons, military equipment and technical equipment for border protection. The total cost and number of items to be delivered have not been disclosed. The programme is scheduled to run through 2029.
Security concerns along the Afghan border
Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan is more than 1,300 kilometres long. Much of it runs through remote mountainous areas and along the Panj River.
Drug trafficking and the activity of armed groups have long complicated border security. The threats came into sharper focus in November 2025, when five Chinese nationals were killed in two separate attacks organized from Afghan territory.
In January 2026, Tajik border guards killed three people suspected of drug trafficking during an armed clash in Khatlon region. Weapons, ammunition and drugs were seized after the clash. The incidents have heightened concerns about the safety of people living in border areas, as well as foreign workers and economic projects operating there.
The situation has also exposed disagreements between Dushanbe and the authorities in Kabul over responsibility for cross-border security. Armed clashes between Taliban forces and their rivals have taken place in Badakhshan province in northeastern Afghanistan, intensifying concerns about instability near Tajikistan. The Taliban authorities reject claims that Afghanistan poses a threat to its neighbours.
In August, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called the CSTO’s concerns unfounded. He said Afghan security forces controlled the country’s borders and that they were ready to discuss security issues directly with neighbouring states.
CSTO collective security commitments
For the CSTO, Tajikistan’s southern border has become a test of the organization’s collective security commitments.
The organization, led by Russia, was established under a treaty signed in 1992 and formalized as an international organization in 2002. Its members are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia. Yerevan has suspended its participation following disagreements over the organization’s response to security concerns.
The CSTO is based on the principle of collective defence and has multinational rapid-reaction forces. Their strength reached about 30,000 personnel in 2024.
At a regional security conference in Moscow in October, Masadykov said the Taliban authorities had made progress in consolidating control in Afghanistan. However, he said risks related to terrorism, drug trafficking and armed violence remained in some areas.
Masadykov said the military supplies intended to strengthen Tajikistan’s border were not directed against Afghanistan or its population. The CSTO says the measure is a preventive step aimed at reducing risks to member states, not at increasing tensions with Kabul.
