Sons of officials called up to the army

According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Tajikistan, this autumn, the sons of 124 officials have been sent to serve in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan.

Photo: Internet

It is reported that among those drafted this year were the children of officials from remote areas of the country or lower-level officials, including “the sons of the heads of the districts of Faizobod, Tojikobod, Rasht, and the city of Bokhtar, as well as the head of the finance department of the General Prosecutor’s Office, prosecutors from the districts of Jaloliddin Balkhi, Muminobod, and the military prosecutor of the garrison city of Kulob.”

It is unknown whether the children of high-ranking officials, such as ministers, deputies, or chairpersons of major cities and regions, were called up. Meanwhile, the 124 conscripts represent a tiny number compared to the total number of conscripts.

Activists claim that there are a large number of officials in Tajikistan whose sons have reached conscription age, but no one dares to hand them a summons and call them to serve in the army. Military enlistment officers do not draft not only the children of officials but also their relatives. However, the children of ordinary people are forcibly taken into the army even on university campuses, and some young teachers and doctors are detained at their workplaces during campaigns known to the public as “oblava” and are forcibly sent to the army.

In recent years, this inequality has created a vast chasm between the government and the Tajik people. Labor migrants believe that the children of ordinary citizens serve the Motherland and defend the country; however, due to the lack of suitable jobs in the country, after serving in the army, they are forced to seek work in Russia and earn a living for their families through hard labor. In contrast, the children of officials, who have neither served the Motherland nor worked under the harsh conditions of labor migration, enjoy all the privileges in the country and receive suitable job placements.