DUSHANBE - Tajikistan has no plans to temporarily house thousands of Afghans awaiting U.S. immigrant visas after having worked for American forces now pulling out of the country, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin said on Tuesday.
Washington has asked Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan to house some 9,000 Afghans who now risk being targeted by Islamist Taliban militants for cooperating with Western forces.
The security situation has deteriorated in Afghanistan in recent weeks, with fighting in its provinces as U.S.-led foreign troops complete their withdrawal and the Taliban launch major offensives, seizing districts and border crossings.
“This matter is not on the bilateral agenda,” Muhriddin told a briefing when asked about the United States’ request.
Uzbekistan – which like Tajikistan shares a border with Afghanistan – has also indicated it is unlikely to comply with Washington’s request, saying there were no legal grounds to house at-risk Afghans in the country.
Kazakhstan has so far declined to comment on the U.S. request. (ATN)