Representative of the Taliban in Tajikistan

A representative of the Taliban government arrived in Tajikistan as part of the Afghan football team.

Photo: Internet

According to the Asia-Plus agency, Mohammad Zahiri Agbar, the Afghan ambassador to Tajikistan, told reporters at a press conference that on Tuesday they went to Dushanbe airport to meet the Afghan national team players and saw that a representative of the Taliban government arrived with the team.

According to the ambassador, Hafiz Ahmad Zozai has no connection to sports, let alone football, and the purpose of his visit is merely to “observe” the Afghan football players.

“His duties include ‘supervising’ 31 athletes who came to Dushanbe. He ensures that the players do not speak negatively about the Taliban government, do not take the opportunity to flee to other countries, and return to Afghanistan. This representative of the Taliban government did not approach us and refrained from communicating with us and the media,” the Afghan ambassador reported.

Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and Kabul fell on August 15, 2021, no country in the world has officially recognized the Taliban government.

Despite this, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan have recognized Taliban diplomats as temporary chargé d’affaires for Afghanistan. However, Tajikistan still considers the Taliban a “terrorist group” and does not recognize their government in Afghanistan.

However, according to some sources, after the Taliban came to power, trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan increased, particularly the transportation of goods and products from companies owned by the sons-in-law and relatives of Emomali Rahmon.