Taliban officials have raised the issues of diplomatic recognition and control of Afghanistan’s embassy in Dushanbe during their meetings with Tajikistan’s delegation in Kabul, sources within the Taliban-run Foreign Ministry said.
The delegation, made up of 14 senior Tajik officials, arrived in the Kabul earlier this week for five days of talks. The delegation was led by Tajikistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, and held meetings with several high-ranking Taliban officials, including their chief minister, foreign minister, defense minister, intelligence chief, and head of border affairs, the sources said.
Tajikistan has not commented publicly on the Taliban’s requests, and according to sources, the delegation gave no firm response to the Taliban’s appeals for diplomatic recognition or the handover of Afghanistan’s embassy, which remains staffed by diplomats appointed under the former republic government.
Tajikistan remains the only neighboring country that has not transferred its Afghanistan’s embassy to Taliban control since they returned to power in August 2021. Over the past four years, Dushanbe has also hosted leading figures of the Afghan political and military opposition, including members of the National Resistance Front.
While Taliban officials used the meetings to press for recognition and deeper bilateral ties, Tajik representatives were focused on a narrower agenda: strengthening border security, coordinating counterterrorism efforts, negotiating prisoner exchanges, and expanding economic cooperation — particularly around mining interests in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province, sources explained.
“The delegation placed particular emphasis on the Badakhshan gold mine, cross-border security, and prisoner exchange mechanisms,” one source familiar with the talks told Amu.
Despite the Taliban’s push, Tajikistan has maintained a cautious and often critical posture toward the Taliban. Russia, a close ally of Tajikistan, has recognized the Taliban.
