ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office has expressed grave concerns over the safety of members of the Pakistan community living in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as troops from the former Soviet republics have clashed in a border dispute, using tanks, aviation and rocket artillery, killing some 100 people.
A large part of the border has remained unmarked, fuelling fierce disputes over water, land and pastures. Delegations from the two nations have held several rounds of talks in recent years but have failed to end the border controversy.
Central Asian border issues largely stem from the Soviet era, when Moscow tried to divide the region between groups which were often settled among other ethnicities.
Clashes between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan over the border are frequent, but usually de-escalate quickly. A similar clash in April 2021 left more than 50 dead, and raised the prospect of a broader conflict.
Both countries border China, while Tajikistan also has a long frontier with Afghanistan. They also host Russian military bases and are members of a Moscow-led regional security bloc.
Responding to the fighting, Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, spokesperson of the Foreign Office, expressed hope that “both our two brother countries” will resolve the dispute through diplomacy and negotiations.
“Our diplomatic missions in Tajikistan, Dushanbe and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan are monitoring the situation closely for the safety of the Pakistani community,” he said.
