INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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.
