Tajikistan has expressed opposition to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan&s (IEA) participation in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) activities, Russia&s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said.The issue was discussed at the SCO Foreign Ministers& Council held in Kazakhstan&s Astana on May 20-21.&Russia and the majority of participants favoured resuming this contact group&s work.

Our Tajik partners still have certain reservations, but we hope they will reconsider their stance soon,& Kabulov said referring to the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, RIA Novosti reported.A Tajik official, however, has said that Kabulov has incorrectly presented Tajikistan&s position in this regard.&We note Mr.

Kabulov&s incorrect presentation of Tajikistan&s position on the issue of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group activities,& Ahmad Saidmurodzoda, Tajikistan&s National Coordinator for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), told Asia-Plus.&Within the framework of the SCO, Tajikistan have consistently emphasized the need to discuss Afghanistan issues.  As far as the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group activities are concerned, Tajikistan has never opposed the resumption of activities of this group; on contrary, our side draws attention to the fact that Afghanistan received the status of observer at the SCO in 2012, while protocols on the establishment of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group were signed with the authorities of this country in 2005 and 2018,& Saidmurodzoda said.      He further noted that in this context, the Tajik side, including during the SCO foreign ministers& meeting, had proposed &at this stage to launch an expert discussion of Afghan issues in the SCO format.&  Related stories:Pakistan&s foreign minister calls for revival of SCO contact group for Afghanistan SCO foreign ministers discuss promotion of stability in AfghanistanThe post Tajikistan stands against IEA&s inclusion in SCO activities: Russia first appeared on Ariana News.